The Phoenix and the Hawk
by Nikki-Chaos
Summary: She was his Ex Fiancee, now she's his target. Secrets ended their relationship but could it now unite them. He has to bring her in alive, she would rather kill him and anyone else who tries...this was going to be the hardest mission Agent Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton had ever undertaken, this was going to be the best game of cat and mouse of Jamie 'Phoenix' Snow's life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer - I don't own anything but the plot and the Original Characters.**

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Clint 'Hawkeye' Barton sighs softly as he follows his teammate Steve Rogers into the meeting room, the two of them being called up to work together on this mission. It had been two months since the battle of New York and things were only just returning to normal. Clint had finally gotten a full nights sleep without the nightmares of what Loki did to him interrupting it and causing him to wake up screaming and covered in a layer of sweat.

As the door closes behind Clint his eyes flicker around the room, observing, cataloging. His eyes register his boss Agent Fury and Agent Hill, the two of them seated on the opposite side of the circular computerized table, also two agents stood in the corners, hands resting over their guns situated in the holsters on their legs. With a quick glance behind him, he sees the exact same in the two corners near the door.

He shrugs and walks over to the table folding himself into the seat next to Steve, his legs stretching out underneath the table as he levels his gaze on his two superiors.

"So I know you guys have had some well deserved time off, but it's back to business" Fury starts "If you guys want it"

Clint glances to Steve to see the man doing the same, they share a look before turning to look at Fury and nod. It seemed weird for Clint to be working with the super soldier, even after the spectacle that happened two months ago. It seemed even weirder that he took the super soldiers orders without eve blanching, going on top of a building to watch the teams back without argument.

Fury nods before tossing over two dossiers to the men sitting opposite him, they catch them and begin to open the brown folder

"This is your target, she is to come in alive" Fury states and Clint hears the command in his voice

_Injure but not Kill_

Clint hisses a breath through his teeth as his eyes land on the picture of their target. The face being one that he would recognize anywhere, the one he hadn't seen in twelve months since things went downhill. The face of his Ex-Fiancee.

_**Jamie Louise Snow.**_

He'd met Jamie in a small cafe in Washington, she had been cursing up a storm in her English accent, the people around her not understanding a single word. Clint did and he found himself laughing slightly before going over to see what was wrong. She'd only just moved here and didn't understand the currency. He took pity and paid for her coffee as well as his own, she smiled a big beam at him, thanked him and left.

He went to the cafe the next day to see her there again, a pair of jeans hugging all of her curves and a top showing off the Phoenix tattoo that covered her whole back and her long black hair tied up in a ponytail, the ends brushing her collarbone. He was the next one in line behind her and chuckled again as she messed up the currency, she turned and scowled at him. He ended up paying for her coffee again.

That time though they actually sat and talked and he learned a little about her. Over the next few weeks whenever Clint was free he would go to the cafe in the morning and meet her, if she got there first she'd order the coffee, now understanding the currency thanks to Clint's teaching, or if he got there he'd order for them.

Slowly but surely they became friends before drifting into something else. They got together in the most cliche of ways, they went out one night, got roaring drunk and then fell into bed together. From that day on they were together. It wasn't the easiest of relationships, they argued more then they talked, they fucked more times then making love, both had severe anger issues and both were keeping secrets. There was only so many times Clint could use to excuse of having to go on a business trip when he came home with a new injury.

He proposed to her out of jealousy, he'd come home from a mission early and headed out to a bar with Natasha and saw her there dancing with one of the friends she'd made, Lisa. But that wasn't what had made him jealous, it was the man that had grabbed her hips and began dancing with her that had. She didn't push the man away and instead carried on dancing with him. Clint had stormed over there, grabbed Jamie by the hand and pulled her away but not before punching the guy in the face knocking him on his ass.

Jamie had laughed all the way back to Clint's apartment, he thought she'd lost her mind until she told him she saw him enter with Natasha and had gotten jealous so decided to make him jealous in return. He'd shouted at her, she shouted back at him until he dropped those two words 'Marry Me'. She'd looked at him as though he was crazy but nodded, he nodded back before grabbing her roughly planting his lips on hers.

So the two of them began the next step of their crazy relationship, Jamie moved into his apartment and he carried on lying to her about his 'business trips'. He learned it was harder when she lived with him and saw the state of him as he came home, which led to more arguments, some of them even resulting in her hitting him. They always made up after the arguments, the two of them taking out their anger in other ways leaving each other bruised in a good way. But one day they didn't fix things.

The argument got so bad that Clint left to calm down, the screams from Jamie echoing behind the closed door as he headed out onto the streets for a walk. He wandered for over an hour before returning to apologize but when he got there she was gone, no trace of her belongings anywhere in the apartment, it was almost as though she'd never lived there. The only thing telling him she was real, was the black eye forming on his face and her engagement ring sitting on the cold table next to the front door.

He'd tried to look for her to apologize but she'd disconnected her cell and didn't use any of the credit cards he knew she had. It was almost like she was a ghost. In their fucked up four year relationship she did mean alot to him, he could say he loved her but neither of them spoke them words. But no she defiantly meant something to him, he liked the idea of returning home to her after a mission, even if he couldn;t tell her her about it and had to come up with some bogus lie about what happened on his supposed business trip. So he left it, instead went on a new mission and forgot about her the best he could. Until now.

"What are we bringing her in for" Steve asks bringing Clint out of his thoughts

Clint looks over to see that Steve had just finished reading the file which couldn't have been that informative due to the look on the Super soldiers face. Clint returns his gaze to Fury hoping the man hadn't noticed that Clint had been lost in his thoughts instead of reading the file in front of him.

"Jamie Snow, otherwise known as Phoenix is an asset we would like to acquire" Fury starts "She is originally from England and has one hell of a colorful past"

"Phoenix" Steve asks before Clint can

"Miss Snow has the ability to manipulate fire in any shape or form. She can light a fire with her mind, boil people from the inside using their own oxygen supply as it's starter, basically anything to do with fire she can do it"

"So why do you want her alive?" Steve asks confused

"Miss Snow was kidnapped at two months old by a English based corporation known as SRT. We don't know much about what happened whilst she grew up there as she hit our radars for the first time when she was Sixteen" Agent Hill states instead of Fury, her brown eyes focusing on the two agents sat opposite her "Going out on what we can assume is Miss Snow's first mission, she infiltrated a KGB holding cell killing thirteen KGB agents and walked out without a mark on her"

"Wow" Clint breathes

"From then on she went on mission after mission, killing, capturing, anything she was assigned to do and she did it without a care. It was only when she was twenty-one that she used her ability for the first time, earning her the name Phoenix" Fury states taking over the explanation. "She left the employ of the SRT and became a sort of mercenary for hire, hitting our radar after every mission"

"So why don't you want her dead?" Steve asks still confused "If she's killed all these people why do you want us to bring her in"

"Phoenix has worked for more corporations than i can name on both hands, she knows who runs each of them, knows where they are based and knows how much of a threat they are. We want that information" Hill explains, hoping to help Steve understand

"Five years ago she dropped off the radar after she landed in the united states, no matter how hard we tried we couldn't find her. Some believe she went into a form of retirement and left her past behind her. We tried to track her but left her to it, she wasn't killing or capturing so she was no threat to us.

"What happened then?" Clint asks, his throat clogged as her hears Jamie's story

"She hit our radars again less then a year ago, she infiltrated one of our sleeper units in Chicago, wiping it from the map as though it was a speck of dust, in doing so she walked away with a lot of our classified files"

"What happened to those files"

"We don't know, from what we can tell she hasn't handed them to the people she was suppose to because there is now a bounty on her head" Hill sighs "Your mission is to bring her in, with the files if possible but also find out who wants her dead"

"So we have to find her, stop her from getting killed all whilst trying to bring her in to SHIELD?" Steve states counting off the mission highlights on his fingers.

"Yes basically" Fury nods "But she won't come in easily, we've sent plenty of Agents after her over the years and some have never been able to return to work after"

Clint gulps as he gets the meaning behind Fury's words. Jamie didn't just retire the agents, she buried them. And now in some messed up twist of fate he was to be one of the new agents sent out to bring his ex-fiancee in to SHIELD.

"Why us" Clint asks gesturing between him and Steve "Why do you think we can bring her in when no one else could?"

"Because you are some of the best we have" Fury states calmly, no wavering in his tone.

Clint knew he was mentioning The Avengers, and in a way he could see Fury's reasoning, if they could bring down Aliens trying to take over the plane then one small girl with fire powers shouldn't be too hard. In theory.

"She was last located in New York, the two of you are to head out in three hours and try to find her" Hill states standing up and throws two more files at Clint and Steve "Anything else you need to know is in this file"

"Just make sure she comes in alive, injure not kill" Fury states

Clint and Steve nod standing up knowing they were now excused, they grab the files on the way and head out quietly heading to their rooms, neither of them talking as they head to the sleeping areas to grab their things.

"You good Hawk?" Steve asks stopping outside his room "You seem put off"

"I'm good" Clint nods "Just wondering how were supposed to stop her when no one else could"

"I guess we'll figure that out when it comes to it" Steve replies shrugging "See you on the jet"

"Yeah" Clint nods absentmindedly as he walks to his room pushing open the door.

Once the door closes behind him he runs a stressed hand through his short brown hair and down his face, his heart beating fast as he tries to comprehend the story he's just been told with the person he knew and dated, and fucked. He just couldn't see how Jamie could be the person they wanted, yet it was all there in the files still clutched in his hands.

He walks over to the desk situated in the corner of his room and sits down placing the two files in front of him, he opens the second one and begins to read. Each word hitting him like a ton of bricks as he thinks back to all those arguments they had, the times she had hit him, her punches feeling like a breath of air, no effort in them at all, the only punch that actually injured him was the last one she gave him before she walked out of his life. Yet it stated in this file, in black and white, that she had managed to punch a guy so hard she broke his neck from the force.

Clint shakes his head skipping over the more gruesome details of what Jamie has done and instead to a rundown of what her current activities are. Apparently she was living in a small suburb in New York, no friends or acquaintances they could contact or ask about her and she also worked at a small cafe just a few blocks away from what used to be Stark Towers but was currently undergoing a makeover to become Avengers Tower.

With just under an hour left before getting on the jet Clint sighs standing from the small chair, he stretches popping his back and walks over to his wardrobe and grabs his bag and begins throwing in clothes as well as his suit, he knows most of the mission will have them in Civilian clothing but he had to be prepared for the worst. Once his bag was packed he made sure to grab his bow and quiver of arrows as well as the two files before walking out the door and down to the jet.

Time to bring in his Ex-Fiancee.

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**END NOTE - First Avengers FAN FIC so be nice.**

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	2. Chapter 2

**IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END - PLEASE READ!**

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Jamie 'Phoenix' Snow was tired of running, it seemed as though she had been running since the moment she could walk, each step taken with a glance over the shoulder to make sure no one else was trying to kill her. She didn't have a permanent home, she didn't have permanent friends that she could go out with on a Friday night, hell she didn't even had a permanent job.

Instead she had safe houses scattered around the world under different names, she had acquaintances to help her get what she needed, and she sort of had a job. If you count killing people, stealing information, or basically committing treason a job. Instead of her wardrobe being filled with shoes and handbags like a normal woman of twenty-nine it was filled with guns, grenades and computer tech for any situation she was thrown into.

Five years ago she thought she could leave it all behind, she thought she could finally wash off all the blood on her hands and fall into a semblance of normality. She came to America with no-one knowing who she was, no one knowing the horrors she'd committed since she was eight years old. She met a guy, Clint, in a cafe in Washington, DC and started on the rockiest relationship known to anyone but for her it was probably one of the best things that had ever happened, the arguments followed by the rough as fuck make-up sex giving her a small sliver of normality.

But that's all it was, a sliver. Before long the relationship crumbled, the jealousy from both her and Clint became too unbearable and they each set out in new ways to make the other hurt. The lies and the secrets became the big elephant in the room, they'd learned to ignore it whilst they were just dating but after Clint put a ring on her finger through his jealousy the two of them couldn't avoid it anymore. He kept lying about his business trips and expecting her to ignore his injuries and she kept lying about who she really was.

She couldn't tell him she'd killed nearly 1000 people, tortured at least 300, stolen files from every corporation that exists and sold them to the highest bidder, a mixture of stolen and accidentally on purpose set off 5 nuclear bombs. If she had there was a good chance he would have gotten her arrested and she's be stuck in a jail cell for the rest of her life and he'd move on to someone less volatile and could handle his secrets.

Instead the relationship ended the way any does when secrets and lies are involved as well as two very volatile people. An argument , punches being thrown (mostly from her) and a slamming door were the catalyst in the end. Jamie remembers staring at the door for at least ten minutes, the vision of Clint walking out of it, slamming it behind him for the first time ever playing through her head like a movie on repeat. She'd soon snapped out of it and packed all of her stuff making sure to leave nothing but her ring on a table and a black eye forming on Clint's face.

She'd immediately left Washington, calling one her acquaintances and told him to find her a job. Things had gone to shit and she needed, no craved, the normality of things she knew to help her deal with the recent changes. So she went on more missions, she killed more people and she stole more valuable information. Until everything went to shit.

Now she was hiding out in New York, working in a small cafe under a assumed name that she'd plucked out of fresh air and got one of the people she knew to create fake documents for. Her eyesight forever flicking over her shoulder waiting for the next person to come gunning for her.

Jamie had started to lose count of how many corporations were after her now, all she knew was each of them wanted the valuable information she had and none of them cared if they had to pry it from her dead hands. She was living on borrowed time and could do nothing more but ride out the storm and hoped to fucking hell she came out alive on the other side.

A sigh leaves her lips as she glances in the mirror by the door one last time, making sure her newly dyed blonde hair looked presentable as well as her uniform before grabbing her leather jacket slipping it over her arms. Grabbing her keys from the small table near the door she heads out, shutting and locking the door behind her.

As she walks the three blocks to the cafe her eyes flick over every person she passes on the street, trying to spot anyone that could try to kill her. She reaches the cafe without incident and heads inside the small Victorian building, a small smile gracing her lips as she stands next to her boss Vicky.

"You okay child?" Vicky asks, a aged hand resting on Jamie's shoulder comfortingly

"I'm fine Vicky" Jamie smiles hoping it and her English accent fools the old lady "Just a lot praying on my mind"

"If you're sure"

Jamie nods and with one more regarding look Vicky turns back to the customer at the counter allowing Jamie to head through the back and into the small staff room. She slips off her leather jacket and grabs her pinafore tying it around her waist and smoothing it down over her black knee length skirt.

She liked Vicky, she was one of those old lady's who acted like a grandmother to everyone, always wanted to make sure everyone was okay and nothing was bothering them. Jamie had never had that before and the first time Vicky did it she wanted to scream and run. But after being here for three weeks she was starting to come to terms with the sentiment, it wasn't so strange anymore but it was still something she wasn't used to and doubted she ever would be.

Checking she has her pad and pen in one of the pockets she turns and plasters on another fake smile whilst heading out into the main area and straight over to the tables in her section. To say it was a small cafe it could get quite full, more often then not they were so busy that you could hardly move, people were crammed into every table, some even stood up just to get out of the cold. But Jamie loved it, it allowed her to escape her demons, keeping them at bay whilst she took peoples orders, smiled and wished them a good day/night.

She smiles politely at a middle aged man before walking over to the window, placing the order on the spinner and waiting for Tony the chef to hand her an order for another table in her section.

"You alright Chicka?" Tony asks as he hands over the meal

"Fine T, couldn't sleep" she shrugs "A lot on my mind"

"You need to rest Chicka, it's not good for you all that stress"

"Find me a good man and I'll soon get rid of it all" Jamie jokes earning a belly laugh from the chef.

She winks at the chef before grabbing the hot plate and turning on her heel heads off to hand it to her customer, once depositing the food at the right table and checking they didn't need anything else. She turns and looks around her section, her eyes land on one of the tables in the back to see it's previous unoccupied status was now filled by a singular man.

Walking over her eyes settle over him to see he was quite young, maybe early to late twenties, blonde hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders and one of those faces that could make a girl wet their knickers with a simple look. His eyes lift from the menu as she comes to a stop near the edge, she sends him a small smile to which he returns laying down the menu.

"Ready to order?" she asks slowly, knowing some people still had a problem understanding her accent

"Not yet Ma'am" he replies shocking Jamie with the manners "Could I just get a coffee for now and let you know"

Shaking her head to release the shock she sends him another smile "Sure, would you like cream and sugar?"

"No thank you"

"Okay" she nods "My names Marie, if you need me and I'll be right back with your coffee"

He nods, his eyes doing an assessment of her face before he drops them to the menu again and Jamie turns to grab his coffee. As she's waiting for the pot to boil her eyes flick over at the man again to see him looking around the cafe, his eyes landing on every patron and assessing them, just like she would. Her brow furrows as she wonders if he was here for her but he couldn't be, he seemed like the kind of guy that would rather be in the gym joking around with his friends instead of chasing a woman and trying to kill her.

She takes small calculated steps back to him with his coffee placing it on the wood top next to him and grabs the pad from her pocket, praying he doesn't see the slight shake in her hand as she grabs the pen readying it above the paper.

"You found what you want Sir"

"Steve" he amends "Please call me Steve, sir makes me feel old"

"So Steve, what would you like to eat" she tries again, her own brown eyes doing an assessment of his face. Her brain working to figure out who he is.

"Just a plate of fries please"

"Okay" she cheers "Coming right up"

She couldn't have ran away from the table any faster, pining the order to the spinner she heads into the back room, she folds herself in the middle her hands resting on her knees, her breath leaving her lips in heavy pants as she tries to ignore the unsettled feeling in her gut. She had been doing her job for too long to simply let a innocent face go without worrying, it was how she was trained, worry about the innocent ones that could end up being the one to dig the knife into your back.

"Chicka, your order" Tony calls, his voice carrying back to her

She stands up taking a deep breathe before walking back out into the fray and over to Tony, she grabs the plate from him and walks over to pretty boy, he smiles politely as she hands him his order but Jamie could see it was forced, he was trying to hide something and if the way he quickly flipped over the napkin in front of him as Jamie walked over, it was something to do with her.

_Or it could just be your paranoia_ The little voice inside her head decides to chime.

_It could be_ she murmurs to herself but she highly doubted it, his eyes had begun to fill with a small guilty edge. Forcing a smile on her face she straightens and writes a note of the order to hand to Vicky.

"Will that be all?" she could tell her voice was too forced and by the small flinch from the man in front of her, so did he

"No thank you Marie" he replies, his voice not once betraying his emotions

She nods and turns on her heel and walks over to Vicky handing over the slip, the old lady smiles before Jamie's off again, heading over to another new table in her section which has just been filled by two adults and four children.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Jamie almost cries out in relief as Vicky shuts the door behind the last customer, the sound of quiet finally filling the small cafe, Vicky chuckles at the younger woman before walking over to the coffee pot pouring two cups. She walks over to the booth where the younger woman is seated, the money from the day's take is piled on top of the wooded counter waiting to be counted, logged and then dropped off at the bank by one of the two women on their way home. The other waitress, a cute sixteen year old that was working after school had already gone home.

"Night ladies" Tony calls as he heads out the back door, heading for home himself

"Night" Vicky and Jamie chorus

Jamie takes a small sip of her coffee, the amber liquid burning her tongue before she sets the cup to the side and pulls one of the stacks closer.

"Soo" Vicky starts "Who was the cute blonde in your section today?"

"Which one" Jamie asks confused, her mind running through the customers she's served

"The one who could be a model and has those manners which belong in the forties"

"Don't know" Jamie shrugs her hands working to count the money "Never seen him before"

"He was cute"

Jamie snorts as Vicky's words settled over her, she was doing it again. The Grandmother thing, this wasn't the first time in the last three weeks that Vicky had tried to set Jamie up on a date, if she remembers correctly it was actually the fifth.

"Not my type Vic" she laughs, her accent thick with tiredness

"Come on Marie, there's been a lawyer, a police officer, a firefighter, and two others and now him and they all aren't your type" she laughs ticking off the men "Just what is your type"

"The bad boys" Jamie smirks earning an eye roll from the older woman

"Should have guessed" Vicky laughs

Jamie joins in as they both turn back to the money in front of them, once counted Vicky bags it and hands it to Jamie, it was her turn to do the run. She didn't mind as it was on her way home, and the guy at the counter did most of it anyway, she just handed it over and said it was the takings from Vicky's cafe. Easy as pie.

Jamie stands from the small table stretching before heading into the back to grab her jacket as well as the bag that's left there for the money runs. She heads back out to see Vicky pulling on her coat, the older woman smiles and hands Jamie the money watching as the younger woman places it in the bag.

They head towards the door with Vicky unlocking it so they can both leave, once outside and the cafe shut up for the day the two part ways.

"Stay safe" Vicky calls over her shoulder "And enjoy your two days off"

"Always do"

Jamie sighs pulling the strap of the bag closer as she walks down the busy street, her eyes drift up to the Stark Tower as she learnt it was called, she could see they had finally started on the restoration, apparently two months ago some sort of Alien Invasion had happened. Jamie didn't know all the details, she didn't even know who was involved, she was yet to read the news about the attack, but looking at the tower and seeing the damage she couldn't help but wonder if she should.

She walks the two blocks to the bank easily and heads inside smiling as she sees it's almost empty and straight over to the counter handing over the money. She watches as the man counts it before banking it, handing Jamie a receipt to hand to Vicky when she she went back to work after her two days off. She walks out the bank and sighs as she looks around the streets, her eyes once again evaluating.

She turns left and begins walking the last two blocks to her apartment, as she's walking past an alley a hand reaches out and grabs her shoulder roughly yanking her inside the alley and into the oncoming darkness. She cries out as her back lands off the wall, his hand gripping her throat, not enough she couldn't talk but enough to keep her in place. Her eyes snap to his before giving her a once over.

He was an average sized man, dressed in all black, a quick glimpse at his hand showed a 9mm with another strapped to his leg. She also notices the hilt of a dagger sticking out of his combat boots. She sighs and shifts her feet getting them into position as she hears two more sets of footsteps close in.

"Hello Phoenix" the one pining her to the wall croons "I believe you have something of ours"

"No idea what you're talking about" she replies smoothly, her eyes flashing

"Don't play games Phoenix" he growls his grip starting to tighten on her throat

_Well that's going to leave a mark_

"I wasn't" she smirks "I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. I swear on my little black heart"

Her attitude seemed to piss the guy off even more as he growled and slammed her against the wall again, knocking the breath from her lungs. Once she regains breathing she sighs and brings her knee up slamming it into his crotch. As he leans forward grunting, she grabs the wrist holding the gun and bends it back snapping it clean in half. Once the gun is in her hand she turns and fires shots down the alley where the other two men are making them dive behind dumpsters.

"Time to play assholes" she growls

_Oh what she wouldn't do for one day of peace._

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**END NOTE - I love that you are all following and add this to your favorites but would it be too much trouble to ask for a simple five second review. You guys are fellow Avengers lovers like me so please let me know what you think of this story.**

**Sorry if it sucks but i wrote it on no sleep and I really wanted to get Jamie's POV.**

**I know there was no Clint in this chapter but he'll show up again, if Jamie saw him she'd run which isn't a good thing. Not yet anyway, the cat and mouse thing will happen soon.**

**ANYWAY simple question, next chapter should it be in Clint's POV or Jamie's. Let me know people.**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed. Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

Jamie throws herself down onto the floor as retaliation shots ring out down the alley, a bullet grazes the arm of her jacket tearing the leather as she rolls backwards and to the side, her side hitting against the metal dumpster causing a whoosh of air to leave her parted lips. Her gaze flickers to the man on the floor gripping his broken wrist to see him reaching behind him to no doubt grab his back up. Lifting the gun to eye level she steadies her hand before pulling back the trigger, watching as the bullet lands between his eyes, killing him instantly.

"One down" she murmurs

She closes her eyes to listen to the other two goons and identifies them as still being at least a foot away from her and ducked down behind the dumpsters, firing blindly in hopes she'd stupidly pop her head out for an easy target. Feeling inside herself for her curse, she watches as her hands begin to glow.

Reaching behind her she slams her hand down on the floor lighting a pile of rubbish on fire and with a steady gaze watches as it burns quickly down the alley, the flames licking at every flammable object in sight like a snake looking for its next meal and towards one of the goons. As the scream of said goon rings out across the air Jamie throws herself to the opposite side of the alley shooting her gun whilst in the air, as she lands behind the opposite dumpster she hears the satisfied thud of his body hitting the ground.

"Two down"

Taking deep breathes to evaluate the situation she glances down and notices she's out of bullets, tossing the offending item to the side she begins to evaluate her next plan of attack. Her ears perk up at the sounds of the last guys footsteps as he walks closer to her, his steps slow and calculated. When she's deemed him close enough she jumps out landing a hard punch to his jaw with her right fist causing him to stumble back at the gun to clatter to the floor.

Jamie gets herself into a battle stance as he straightens up, his eyes hardening as they land on her, he dives forward to land a punch and she ducks to the side and down landing two swift punches to the gut making him double over. She straightens up landing another to his jaw. She spins out of his reach before ducking to pick up the gun laid on the floor, as she straightens and looks him in the eye she doesn't blink, as her grip tightens on the weapon, the guys eyes widen as she readies her finger over the trigger. He opens his mouth to say something but Jamie doesn't give him the chance instead she just pulls the trigger and watches as he drops to the floor dead beside his teammates.

"Three down"

She knew she would have fought longer and harder and made it more of a fun activity if it wasn't for the fact that the Cops were on their way, civilians were less then a foot away from the action and she was wearing a knee length skirt which restricted quite a lot of movement. With a quick glance down the alley to make sure no one was watching she ducks down and begins to empty the three guys pockets, looking for something, anything to tell her who they are and who they work for.

Once their pockets are empty and she's found everything of value she picks up the other gun slotting it into the back of her skirt with the first one, making sure her jacket covers it before shoving the I'D's and the USB stick she found into the bag still draped across her shoulder.

Hurried movement behind her catches her attention and as she turns to hit the person sneaking up on her she watches alarmed as he drops dead, an arrow planted firmly between his eyes. Her heart beating a mile a minute she begins to look around for the person who killed him but doesn't spot anything or anyone, a quick glance up to the sky shows nothing but building no windows no holes in the roof for anyone to peek out of and see what was happening in the alley below.

Not wanting to stay out in the open any longer Jamie stands up and runs deeper into the darkened alleyway before taking a left, her steps slowing to a slow gaunt as she lands back on the busy street, the sidewalk crammed with people, their attention firmly on the alley she just evicted. Bowing her head she pushes through the throng of bodies, sighing when they start to thin allowing her more movement and begins a hurried walk back to her apartment.

Once outside of the apartment building she goes over to where the bins are, her brain telling her it was bin day the next day and throws the two guns inside as well as the ID's she doesn't need, she looks at the rubbish wondering if she should cover them but remembers that no one uses the bin she just used. It was more of a homeless persons crash pad anyway, with the USB stick planted firmly in her grip she heads inside and up to her apartment, her feet chewing up two stairs at a time before she stops outside of her door.

With a quick glance down both ends of the hallway she unlocks the door darting inside before locking the door back up again as well as the dead bolt and the other two secure locks she had installed. She does a quick analysis of the apartment making sure all the windows are locked and secure before walking into the front room, snagging a bottle of whiskey from the kitchen as she goes.

Stripping out of her now ruined jacket and taking off her work blouse leaving her in the skirt and tank top she settles in front of her laptop booting it up as she takes a generous swig of the amber liquid. Once the laptop is booted up she inserts the USB stick and watches as it loads.

As soon as it loads she knew what it was, it was a dossier filled with details pertaining to the mission, from locations of the safe house, to the targets rumored location as well as routes the intended target was likely to take to travel to and from places. All of the information relating to her, her work patterns, her most traveled routes, as well as Vicky's details. Taking another sip of the whiskey she begins to tap commands on the laptop keypad, her eyes flitting across the pages flashing on the screen trying to spot any symbol, sentence of even a small code to let her know who had sent the agents after her.

Finding nothing a small growl leaves her lips as she stands grabbing the bottle and heads over to the window looking out of it and at the street below. As she takes measured gulps from the bottle her mind wanders back to the three people in the alley, they said she had something that belonged to them, but that couldn't be possible. The last mission she undertook which landed a bounty on her head when she failed to deliver was for SRT, they were British and only employed British people. The three men were American, so which corporation filled with stupid American men wanted what she had, which corporation had found out she had it.

The better question was what other corporations knew.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Clint watches from his place on the roof opposite Jamie's apartment, his body half hidden by a chimney as Jamie stands at the window, her gaze planted firmly on the street below but he could see that she wasn't really noticing the activities below, instead she was lost in her thoughts, a bottle of whiskey swinging idly in her right hand.

His cynical eyes take in her appearance from the blonde hair which didn't suit her facial features in his opinion, to the bags underneath her eyes from either stress of lack of sleep. His eyes drift down her shoulders and to her arm, the one he knew a bullet had grazed, a small sigh leaving his lips as he notices no mark no doubt her jacket took all the damage. As his eyes drift down her frame cataloging her appearance he notices that she looks thinner then when he last saw her.

Jamie had always been small, she pushed 5'5 on a good day, but what she lacked in height she made up for in personality and in her appearance. She had one of those natural hour glass bodies, perfectly sized boobs that used to fit snugly into the palm of his hands and an ass that Clint had caught himself on too many times staring at as she walked in front of him. Her stomach was perfectly taunt, the muscles creating a smooth washboard of skin that he had worshiped plenty of times.

But looking at her now he could see she had lost weight, her curves no longer as prominent and dangerous to the male population as they used to be. Her blonde hair as well as the bags gave her a washed out look which Clint didn't like seeing at all. He wanted to see the healthy version of her.

He's broken out of his thoughts as Jamie walks away from the window, shutting the curtain, he gazes around the street to check it was still clear of enemies before signaling to Steve. Clint watches as the much taller man walks over to the bins near Jamie's apartment and pulls out the ID's she threw in there, a disgusted look turning up the blonde's features. Clint laughs as Steve gingerly pockets the ID's and walks over the street and into the building Clint is on top of.

It was an apartment building and SHIELD had managed to acquire the two of them an apartment which gave them a clear view of Jamie's but also of the surrounding street. With a sigh Clint leaves his position on the roof and heads to the door which takes him down to the apartments, he reaches the one their staying in just as Steve does and the two of them head in and over to the table, Clint lays down his bow and Steve settles the ID's next to them before heading off to no doubt was his hands.

Clint walks over to the fridge and grabs two beers before heading back to the table folding himself into one of the chairs as Steve comes back and sits opposite him. Clint hands the soldier one of the beers before taking a swig of his own.

"I didn't expect to go dumpster diving on this mission" Steve comments begrudgingly

"Perks of the job" Clint smirks

Steve nods "Like saving her ass on day one" he comments dryly

"Another perk" Clint sighs "We were told people wanted her dead. Today just proved they didn't care where they attempted said killing"

"You were cutting it close though"

Clint nods sighing as Steve words settled into the silence, he was right. When Clint had fired the arrow at the man who was sneaking up on Jamie from behind, he wasn't exactly hiding, he'd been stood on the edge of the building and if it wasn't for Steve when Jamie had looked up she would have gotten a good unfiltered view of him. Luckily Steve had grabbed him at the last second and pulled him down and behind a generator.

"A little reckless wasn't it" Steve comments breaking Clint out of his thoughts

"A little"

"Do you want to tell me why?" the blonde asks, an eyebrow raised an a questioning look in his blonde eyes

"Not really" Clint grunts earning a nod from the man opposite him

"You know you're going to have to tell me whats wrong with you at some point"

"Nothing's wrong with me"

Steve just stares at the young archer across from him as he takes a small swig of the beer in his hand, his hands gripping the bottle tightly leaving his knuckles white and tense. Steve knew it wasn't the fact that she was female, he knew it wasn't due to what she could apparently do. There was something much deeper that was bugging Clint about this mission. And if he wanted to help Clint keep the woman alive, he really needed to know what it was but Clint was making it hard to do.

"So what's the plan" Steve asks breaking the silence

"I don't know" Clint sighs "She already figured something was off with you in the cafe this afternoon"

"Yeah" Steve nods "But she didn't leave which means she didn't completely figure it out"

"True"Clint nods

He places down his beer and drags the four ID's over to him, flicking them open his eyes scan over the details and pictures. He knew the ID's were fake, so did Jamie probably hence why she threw them but the pictures were on point, they were the men that were now on their way to NYPD's morgue.

Leaning down he grabs his knife from his boot and flicks it open before slicing at the pictures to remove them gently from their protective holder. Once he had all four pictures he grabs hold of his tablet and logs into the shield database, laying down the four pictures, face down, he scans them into the database before setting off a search to find out who they really are and with any luck who they work for.

Once finished he lays the tablet off to the side, the scan no doubt going to take a while and picks up his beer bottle again. He lifts his head to notice that Steve is nowhere to be seen but shrugs as he hears a shower come on in another room. The older man still hated seeing reminders of what century he was currently in, his mind still locked in the forties. Clint did feel sorry for the guy but had to remind himself that Steve was no doubt going to be hit with that problem a lot. The world was constantly changing and Steve had to get with the program or be forever left in the dark.

Standing from the chair Clint walks over to the window, his gaze immediately locked on Jamie's window to see her once again leant against the glass, the bottle of whiskey still in her hand but she was no longer in the skirt and tank top, instead she was dressed in an oversized shirt which after a long hard look Clint recognizes as his. A smirk lifts the corner of his lips as he sees her once again dressed in his clothes, though a small thought in the back of his mind wonders why she took it when she left, it she wanted to leave all reminders of her time with him behind she would have left the shirt.

He ducks to the side as Jamie's eyes drift over to the window, her brow furrowing as she sees the curtain ruffle, a small curse leaving Clint's lips as he leans against the wall out of view. After a few moments he chances a look to see Jamie is no longer looking and sighs before walking away from the window and over to his room, deciding he needed a cold shower in hopes of getting his thoughts back on the mission, not on old memories of Jamie lying naked beneath him.

Yeah this mission wasn't going to plan at all. And it was only bloody day one.

After a quick shower he gets change into some jogging pants and a loose shirt and heads back into the main room to see Steve reading over the files again, cartons on take-away spread across the table. Seating himself in the seat he vacated earlier he pulls one of the cartons closer as his eyes drift to the tablet he left earlier.

"We've got a hit"

Clint pulls the tablet closer, making sure not to knock the take away container and presses a few buttons to reveal all the information needed.

"So who are they?" Steve asks

"Some low level assassins, not many hits between them" Clint murmurs running through the information

"Expendable" Steve comments earning a nod from Clint

"Basically" Clint nods "They work for some low level Corporation called Viper that has wanted to bring SHIELD down for years"

"How did they hear about Jamie having the shield files"

"No idea" Clint shrugs "Does it say in the file who her last mission was for"

"No, SHEILD think it might be the SRT. But they have no evidence to back it up"

"Great" Clint sighs

"If a low level corporation knows she has valuable information. How many others do?"

"And how many of them want her dead to get that information"

* * *

**END NOTE - So whats your thoughts on this chapter. I know it seems dull but it needed to happen. I hate fillers so I'll try my hardest not to post them that often. A lot more action is coming up.**

**So i cheated and split the chapter and added in a little of Steve's thoughts. Sue me. Anyway I'm thinking of alternating the chapters, having one in Clint's POV and another in Jamie's. If you like that idea let me know.**

**Also if you want me to add something, or see something that doesn't work and want me to improve on it. Or to simply message me and ask questions. Please do, I don't bite, i always reply back and I love talking to my readers. I also like hearing your ideas. Like when should Jamie spot Clint, should Steve try and talk to her again, or should Jamie kick Steve's ass. Come on guys throw your ideas at me.**

**Hawkeye love and kisses to you all.**

**Nikki**


	4. Chapter 4

The next day saw Clint finding more information out about Viper whilst Steve kept an eye on Jamie. It was currently two in the afternoon and she had yet to surface from her apartment. The curtains were still drawn at the window and no one had come and gone from the apartment building. Clint sighs into the cellphone at his ear before ending the call, throwing a glance to Jamie's window before lowering his gaze to Steve.

The man was currently sat on the steps of the apartment building, his body angled towards the direction Stark Tower could be found, a sketchpad on his lap and a pencil in his hand, if anyone but Clint was to look at the super soldier it would seem as though he was doing nothing but harmless drawing. But Clint kept catching the small flickers of movement his head made as Steve cast his gaze to Jamie's apartment before looking back forward.

Clint felt sorry for the man being stuck outside but it was Steve's idea, something about the apartment being too stuffy and also doing all the chasing of information wasn't something Steve was good at. Clint didn't argue and instead picked up the phone to ring SHIELD and get them to dig up all they could on Viper. Plus with Steve outside keeping vigil they would know when Jamie was on the move so Clint could activate the GPS system he'd managed to install last night.

Clint had remembered that Jamie had a bad habit of leaving her key in the lock when she locked up on a night, so he'd gone over and managed to figure out which was her apartment based on location of the windows. Kneeling down in front of the door he grabbed the Miniature GPS device and tag it to Jamie's keys using a pair of tweezers and extremely steady hands. It was one of Stark's inventions and could attach to anything and everything and couldn't be removed until the GPS was turned off by the remote Clint had. So as long as Jamie took her keys with her on every journey they would know where she was at all times.

The only downside was if yesterdays adventure had made Jamie want to flee she wouldn't take her keys with her which meant they had to somehow tag something she was guaranteed to take with her. The task seemed easier said then done but Clint was going to break into Jamie's apartment whilst she went out and see if there was something he could tag, basically he was going to snoop.

"The phoenix has risen" Steve's voice comes in over the earpiece in Clint's ear, humor dripping in every word

"Got it"

Clint hits the button on the GPS and walks over to the window, not knowing when he actually moved away, to see Jamie walking down the street away from the two buildings. Movement below catches Clint's eye and he sees Steve stand up and quickly head inside the building. Within minutes Steve's in the apartment placing down his sketching tools.

"She looks like she's headed for a run" He comments

"You're the fastest one here" Clint murmurs "I'll direct you to where she is. Then i'll head over to her place and see if there's something else i can tag"

The soldier nods and turns heading back out the apartment, Clint grabs the tablet bringing it close and opens the application showing where Jamie is. After telling Steve her location he waits for confirmation of Steve finding her, whilst waiting he walks over and grabs the things he needs for his current job.

"I see her" Steve says down the earpiece, his voice steady with no sign of breathlessness "She's a fast little thing"

Clint smirks but doesn't answer as he grabs the backpack he's just packed and heads out the apartment locking the door behind him. He walks steadily down the stairs and across the road, his head swiveling from side to side, his eyes scanning everything to see if there is any danger or anyone waiting in the wings for Jamie's return. Seeing no one he heads inside the apartment building and up to Jamie's number.

Double checking that no one can see him he drops down onto his hunches and quickly picks the lock, the old metal clicks loudly letting Clint know he's suceeded. With one more glance down the corridor he slips inside the apartment, shutting the door quietly behind him.

His eyes glance around the apartment Jamie calls home to see it could be called anything but a home. There are no personal features at all, bare walls, bare floors. The only semblance that someone lives here is the Laptop on the table and the clothes piled in the corner.

Noting nothing worth tagging in the living room he works his way towards the bedroom, pushing open the door he chuckles as he sees the bed in a mess.

"Still the same Jamie" he whispers to the empty room

His eyes roam over each corner of the room before his eyes land on the cell phone on the bed side table, he smirks and walks over. Clint takes off the backpack setting it on the bed and unzips it, his hands pull out the box which holds the mini GPS's devices and grabs hold of the cellphone. he grabs one of the GPS's and sticks it to the phone near the speaker.

"Steve" Clint says pressing down on the earpiece to activate it

"Yeah"

"I've tagged her phone but I'm going to see if there's anything else. Just in case she disposes of the phone"

"Okay" Steve replies "She's showing no signs of wanting to come back yet so you should be alright"

"Right"

Clint moves around the room trying to find anything else. He spots a walk in wardrobe in the corner and walks over pulling open the thin wooden doors. He spots her uniform from the day before as well as the leather jacket she'd been wearing. As he glances at the sleeve he sees the damage from the bullet but no blood which confirms his previous suspicion, the jacket took all the damage.

Shaking his head he looks over the other items and notices a duffel bag, the only bag in the whole cupboard. With a smirk he walks back to the bed and grabs the other GPS device before walking back over to the bag, placing the device inside one of the pockets.

"I'm done" he says to Steve

"Roger that"

Clint tries not to laugh at the pun included in that sentence and instead closes up the wardrobe and grabbing the backpack heads back into the living room and over to the laptop. Dropping down into the chair opposite he presses a button waking it up, reaching into one of the pockets of his bag he grabs a USB stick and inserts it into one of the slots.

He opens the file included on the stick and installs the virus which will sit on the computers hard drive and copy every file and search history currently on Jamie's laptop to the laptop currently sat on Clint's bed, as well as any new files she opens or stuff she does.

When he'd checked in earlier Fury had changed the mission a little bit, instead of bringing her straight in they had to try and learn as much about her as possible. They also had to try and find out as much as they could about Viper and why the hell Viper wanted her dead. None of Jamie's history showed her ever interacting with them.

"Hawkeye, we're doubling back"

"Five minutes"

"Hurry up" Steve groans "she's sprinting"

Clint curses as he waits for the virus to finish installing. When its done he grabs the USB and darts from the chair and out the apartment. Making sure the door clicks behind him, he heads down the hallway in the opposite direction to the one he came up and down the back stairs. Working his way round the building and back to front doors.

As he's about to leave he notices Jamie come to the bottom of the stairs, lowering his head he walks past her and almost curses as she knocks into him and drops to the floor. He carries on walking out the door, hoping and praying she didn't catch a look at his face. If she did things were about to get a whole lot worse.

"Watch where your going asshole" the familiar British twang shouts behind him

He pretends to walk down the street nodding at Steve as the man passes him, after a few moments he turns back and runs in the right direction and into the apartment building and up to the apartment. Steve was stood in the doorway holding the door open.

"Cheers"

Clint heads in and over to the table placing down the backpack before pivoting on the balls of his feet and heading into the bedroom. He grabs his laptop off the bed and walks into the main room to see Steve taking generous gulps from the bottle of water in his hands.

"She tire the old man out" he chuckles

"She's fast" Steve comments "And also knows how to loose someone. She changes paths quickly"

Clint nods folding himself into one of the chairs and booting up the laptop. Once awake he clicks on the application activating the virus and watching as all the files from Jamie's laptop installs.

"Do you think the files from SHIELD are on her laptop" Steve asks settling himself into the chair opposite Clint

It was times like this Clint was reminded that Steve hadn't done a mission like this,he kept asking questions to make sure he was doing the right thing and wasn't going to compromise the whole mission.

"If she has she's dumber than i knew her to be" Clint replies "But to be honest I believe she's hidden it somewhere"

"Knew her to be"

_Fuck_, Clint hadn't realized that he let that slip and with one quick glance up to the soldier he could see it was a conversation that wasn't going to be dropped anytime soon. He sighs and stands from the chair walking over to the fridge, he pulls it open and grabs one of the beers flicking off the lid as the fridge door closes.

"You need to tell me what's going on Clint" Steve says, his tone taking on a commanding quality

"I know where Jamie was when she dropped off the radar five years ago"

"Where?"

"With me" he sighs watching as the soldiers eyes widen

"She was with you?" he questions slowly "How long?"

"Four years"

Steve nods and Clint sighs walking over and dropping into the chair he previously occupied. His gaze steady on the soldier in front of him waiting for the barrage of questions that were undoubtedly to follow.

"Do you think Fury knows?"

The questions takes Clint for surprise but he shakes his head in reply "No one but Natasha knew me and Jamie were even together"

"So what tore the two of you apart"

"Secrets" Clint scoffs "Looks like there was more of them than i thought"

Steve nods and a comfortable silence settles over the partners. Clint had to hand it to the man, he wasn't one to pry. He hadn't asked the questions that Clint thought he would, instead he'd asked the ones that needed to be answered for the sake of this mission. If it had been Tony or even Bruce, Clint knew he wouldn't have heard the end of it until he told them the whole story.

"Will you be able to bring her in"

Steve's soft question breaks the silence and Clint stops mid drink to look at the soldier, his thoughts whirling. He'd taken the mission without thinking whether he could actually hand Jamie over. Yes Fury said they just wanted the information off her but what happened after she handed it all over, she was a killer and there was no way SHIELD would let her get away with it.

"We'll see when that time comes"

Clint places down his beer bottle and pulls the laptop towards him as the screen flashes to let him know all the files had been downloaded and the virus was fully active. He opens the first one he clicks on to see it's a mission dossier, the pictures included those of Jamie's would be killers last night.

Shrinking the file to read later, Clint clicks on another and as it opens his eyes widen as he sees its a list. On one side is names and places and on the other are dates. Looking at the first one he notices that Jamie would have been eight at the time, scrolling down the rather long list he sees the name of the three guys from last night added on the end. Its then that he realizes what it is, it's Jamie's kill list.

Some assassins were known for keeping them so that if they were ever questioned by their bosses on a certain kill they knew who they were on about. Clint didn't need one, he had all the paperwork to back his up but for someone like Jamie this was probably needed.

"Look at this"

"What's the dates mean?" Steve questions glancing at Clint briefly before returning his eyes to the screen

"A kill list. It shows the name and date of every kill Jamie has ever done"

"According to the top date she would have been eight years old"

"I know" Clint nods "I saw that too"

Movement on the tablet next to him catches Clint's eye and he looks over to see the GPS has activated, jumping up from the chair he walks to the window just in time to catch Jamie walking off down the street.

"Come on"

Steve stands up at Clint's words and after grabbing his leather jacket off the hook on the wall, also the gun lying on the table near the door the two of them head out to follow Jamie. As Clint walks down the stairs he pulls his phone from his pocket, opening the program for the GPS he walks in the direction Jamie went.

"There she is" Steve says pointing

As Clint looks up he gets another look at the tattoo covering Jamie's back, she had a total of ten tattoos but out of them all that was his favorite. It covered the whole of her back and stopped just before the curve of her ass. It was the type of thing you could spot anywhere if you were looking for it. Clint wondered why she had it on show, if she knew people were after her she would have covered the one thing that could lead them right to her.

_Unless she wants to be found._

Clint groans silently as the thought crosses his mind, it would make sense. She had the mission dossier, no doubt stealing it off the men last night. She would know that more were apart of the mission and would be looking for her.

"Keep your eyes open, there could be trouble" he comments to Steve who nods in reply, his eyes planted firmly on the woman half a foot in front of them

The two of them trail behind her silently blending easily into the hustle and bustle of the New York streets, every now and then one of them would look around to make sure they were the only ones trailing Jamie before their eyes landed back on the woman in front of them.

After around two miles of walking, Jamie slips inside a bar and the two of them follow inside, Steve walks to the bar to get the drinks, whilst Clint walks to the bar of the bar to one of the tables partially hidden by shadows, he sits in the darkest corner, his eyes planted firmly on Jamie as she orders a drink further down the bar to Steve.

Once Steve has his and Clint's drinks he turns and heads to where Clint is seated, sitting in the chair further down on the opposite side so he doesn't obscure Clint's view. Thanking Steve for the drink the two of them settle in to no doubt watch Jamie get drunk.

After around an hour of nothing happening Clint watches as a dude walks over and drops into the seat opposite Jamie, their heads connecting as they hurriedly talk. He indicates to Steve who turns in his seat to watch the interaction just as the guy pulls out a brown envelope and handing it to Jamie who nods with a smile. The guy stands hurrying out the bar after that.

"She's planning to bolt" Clint mumbles "That envelope no doubt holds her new identity"

"Good thing we tagged her today then"

Clint nods and stands as Jamie heads out the bar, Steve follows and the two of them fight through the throng of people. Once outside they look up and down the sidewalk but don't see Jamie. Clint grabs his phone and notices she's five minutes walk away and heads in the direction, the GPS pointing him. He stops as he notices it shows Jamie in a alley and leans against the wall before leaning around the corner.

The sight that greets him gives him a sense of deja vu. In the alley with her was three other guys, Jamie was in the middle fighting the best she could, Clint could see the assassin she was trained to be showing in her actions. Before Clint could blink two guys were on the floor, one with a broken neck and the other gripping his arm where Clint could see the bone was broken and sticking out of the skin.

Jamie kicks the other guy away causing him to hit the ground, he soon picks himself up and grabs a knife from his boot charging at Jamie blindly, she laughs before grabbing the wrist with the knife twisting it, she grabs the knife with her spare hand and drives it into the guys throat.

Just as his body drops to the ground four shots ring out around the alley, Clint grabs the gun behind his back as the civilians on the street begin to scream and cause chaos on the sidewalks. As Clint looks at Jamie he sees her grab her stomach before moving her hand, her white top now stained red. Steve having just noticed the same thing runs towards Jamie as she falls to the floor, his arms catching her fall. Clint walks into the alley more cautiously, his eyes scanning the area looking for the shooter.

"Clint she needs the hospital badly"

Clint turns to face Jamie as he notices no one in the alley to see Steve sat with her head in his lap, his hands pressing down on Jamie's stomach in hopes of stopping the bleeding. He looks to the entrance of the alley to see a male peering round the corner, his eyes planted firmly on Jamie as fear flashes across his face

"Call an ambulance"

The guy nods and pulls out his phone with shaking his hands. Clint turns his head and walks over to Jamie and Steve, dropping down to his knees, his hands joining with Steve's in hopes of stopping the bleeding. Steve's calm voice fills the alley as he tries to keep Jamie awake, Clint nearly says something as he hears the name Marie but remembers that was the name she was going by at the moment.

Clint looks down at her face to see her eyes fighting to close, after taking a shuddering breathe her eyes pop open again settling on Clint's face, he hears the small gasp that leaves her lips as their gazes lock.

"Clinton"

* * *

**End Note - Has anyone else seen the new Clip for Avengers: Age Of Ultron that's just been posted today. It looks good, so does Hawkeye and his cupboard of toys.**

**I love the idea that ****d0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n**** sent me, as you can see my dear I did as you wished. I hope it's exactly what you wanted. I do hope you keep dropping me ideas, i love them.**

**Also people it shows i listen to you, so shoot your ideas at me. I'll see if i can fit them in.**

**Also if you see any mistakes let me know, I don't have a beta and Punctuality is soo not my strong suit. How the hell i got a good grades in English I'll never know. Anyway let me know guys. It would be soo helpful.**

**Also someone messaged me asking what Clint and Jamie's shipper name would be. I couldn't answer but do you guys have any ideas.?**

**And last question i promise, i mentioned the other Avengers, should i include them in the story at some point. I think if things went really wrong Clint would call them in to help, what do you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

Jamie groans as she opens her eyes and harsh light begins to flood in making her temporarily blind, lifting a hand to her face shakily she is able to block the light as she blinks trying to clear the white spots dancing in her vision. Once she can see she lowers her hand and begins to look around the room, instantly noticing it as a hospital room. Cursing under her breath gently she begins to sit up, hissing as her stomach clenches in pain, her eyes once again dancing with white lights.

"Oh fuck"

The door opens as the words leave her mouth and a preppy nurse runs in and attaches herself to Jamie's side, her voice grating on Jamie's nerves. The nurse tries her hardest to get Jamie to lay back down but after noticing it wasn't going to work the nurse gives in and instead helps the woman to sit up. She sends a small smile to the nurse who nods and walks back out the room.

As Jamie watches the door close she once again does a sweep of the room, her eyes stopping on the figure situated in the corner. She remembers him as the shady blonde from the cafe. A frown covers her features as she wonders why he was here, she could't remember much after she got shot, she could clearly remember a guy talking to her and then to someone else. She also remember seeing someone who looked a lot like Clint, but it couldn't be him, Clint was in brought her back to Mr Snores in the corner.

shaking her head she throws the covers off her legs and swings to the side sitting on the edge of the bed. Breathing harshly as her injured stomach protests to the movement she grabs hold of the IV's yanking them out of her arm causing a momentary blimp of pain. Once it passes she stands from the bed on shaky legs and heads towards the bathroom, closing the door silently as to not wake sleeping beauty she heads over to the bathroom sink.

A small groan of annoyance leaves her lips as she sees the fading bruises on her face and the rats nest of blonde hair sitting atop of her head. Looking around the bathroom she notices a brush and picking it up attempts to tame the nest, her thoughts drifting back to the Alley trying to remember anything and everything she can to help her understand her current situation.

When her hair was brushed and her mind still came up blank with answers she turns towards the door to see clothes hung on the back, her leather jacket sitting on top. Walking over she looks inside the inside pocket and almost cries out in relief as she sees the brown envelope still tucked away where she left it. Removing her jacket and the other clothes from the hook she begins to get dressed. The action slower then she would have liked thanks to the rather large bandage on her stomach and the whirlwind of pain that made her nauseous and dizzy as she moved a certain way.

Once dressed and looking someone presentable she opens the door and heads back into the room only to stop short as she sees sleeping beauty no longer in the chair but instead standing near the bed she vacated, a stoic look on his face as he stares back at her, his eyes betraying nothing.

"Take a picture, it last longer" Jamie snaps, her defense mechanism of sarcasm kicking in.

"You shouldn't be walking around"

"I shouldn't be doing a lot of things"

The man whose name escapes her just stares at her not finding the funny side of her words causing Jamie to let out a sigh and slowly walk over to the chair he was previously asleep in and drop into it gently, her eyes not once leaving the mans as his look up and down her body no doubt taking notes of her current situation looking for any weaknesses.

_Newsflash dickhead, I may be injured but I don't do weakness._

She sighs softly as an awkward silence settles over the pair, Jamie didn't want to break it. She was scared of what she'd find out if she did, the man obviously wasn't here to kill her or he would have done it already. He wouldn't have hung around, slept whilst she did only to talk to her and then kill her. It just didn't work like that.

If anything he worked for one of the corporations after her and wanted to play a little game to see if he could get the leverage she had. It was the only situation that seemed to make sense in Jamie's head.

"How long have i been here" she asks breaking the silence on a safe question, her mind demanding too many answers to let the silence go on any longer.

"Three weeks" he retorts

Jamie nods as her mind begins to do calcualtions, three weeks which means Vicky would know about the accident by now and if not had no doubt fired her. Also three weeks gave any of the guys after her the time to find out where she was, if they were watching her alias. Looking back at the guy she sees he's still staring.

"What do you want?"

She decides bluntness is the only way to get her answers, the guys eyes widen as her words settle heavy in the air, he obviously didn't expect her to just come right out and ask that but she never did what people expected of her. She'd done her days as someones puppet and wasn't going to do it anymore.

"I work for S.H.I.E.L.D"

"What the fuck is that when it's at home" she asks cutting in

She had heard of them before but decided playing dumb was the other best course of action. Implicating herself in the knowledge was not one of them.

"It's the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division" he reciets causing Jamie's jaw to drop

"Yeah stick to S.H.I.E.L.D"

He chuckles at her words before settling down on the bed, Jamie didn't like the homey feel and stands back up, her feet carrying her in a slow pace, her eyes still trained on the guy.

"What do you want with me?"

"We would like to talk to you"

"About"

"I think you know"

She laughs at his cryptic words, the four letter sentence heavy with implications that Jamie understood instantly.

"And why should I go with you" she stops pacing to face him, a dainty eyebrow raising "What's stopping me from killing you"

She could see him thinking over her words and takes the opportunity to walk closer, her steps calculated and precise. Her body angling to get into the right position.

"You have some of our Intel and we would like it back"

"What's in it for me" she shrugs "You're going to kill me anyway, just like everyone else"

"My partner is currently on the roof of this building checking to make sure that no enemy forces get to you. We have done this detail for three weeks, if we wanted you dead my partner would have done it and we would have found the Intel"

She smirks at his words, she could hear some truth in it but the whole sentence sounded like a lie to her, words he threw together in hopes of getting her to listen to him. She had to admit if she wasn't as trained as she was she might have done just that but she had played this game too long, she had interrogated her fair share of marks to know how these things work.

"That idle threat won't work on me. If you wanted the Intel you wouldn't have been sleeping in this room and your partner wouldn't be on the roof protecting me. So what is your line, what does SHIELD really want from me"

"I told you"

"No you told me half truths that even a trainee attending their first interrogation could see through" she smirks "I want to know what SHIELD wants from me, it has to be more then Intel because on an Intel job you don't go to the place of work of the thief who stole the Intel and you sure as hell don't protect them whilst they've been recovering in hospital"

As the guy stares at her she reaches forward grabbing hold of his hair forcing his head down as she brings up her knee, his face smacking straight off the bone, the sound of bone connecting with bone being the only sound she could hear as does the movement five more times. His body falls back onto the bed as she shoves him away, blood tricking down onto the white sheets from his busted nose. She felt bad for what she did, but it was necessary.

Groaning as her stomach complains she turns on her heel and heads towards the door, making sure the blinds are pulled down blocking the room from view she slips out the door before heading down the corridor. Her head lowered so none of the nurses see her, heading into the elevator she watches as a guy in all black heads into the room she just left.

As the doors close she begins to jitter nervously, she didn't know if the guy in black was with the guy she just knocked out or if he was a part of the corporation that was trying to kill her, once the elevator doors open she didn't think anymore and bolted for the door as fast as she could. Looking around the sidewalk she notices a line of cabs up the road and heads in that direction, her feet carrying her as fast as the pain would allow.

A voice rings out behind her as she's walking, her bad luck seeming to come in spades. Glancing over her shoulder briefly she notices that it's the guy from the hospital, not sparing another look she speeds up trying to get away. His voice continues to shout her growing louder as he closes the gap. When she no longer hears it but hears screams of other people she chances another look. What she sees makes her stop in her tracks for embedded in the guys head was an arrow.

Looking back at the hospital and up on the roof she notices a figure lowering a bow, from this distance she couldn't tell who he was but it seemed as though he was staring back at her. His gaze even from a distance feeling familiar as though she has been caught in before.

_My partner is currently on the roof of this building checking to make sure that no enemy forces get to you._

The words from blondie ring in her ear as she stares at the man before turning on her heel quickly and all but running towards the cabs. Jumping into the first one she reaches she gives the guy the address of the drugstore near her apartment and lets out a small whimper as she leans back into the cushioned seat.

Her mind hurt from all that she head learnt in the last hour alone, she'd been in hospital for three weeks, blondie and robin hood had protected her for those three weeks, they worked for SHIELD and wanted her for what she didn't know as she knew it ran deeper than the Intel she stole off them. She also had other corporations wanting her dead, one almost succeeding and she didn't know if she was coming or going or who the hell she was supposed to trust.

The cab pulls up outside the drug store five minutes later and after paying the fare Jamie climbs out and heads inside, her eyes scanning the customers to see a male in the corner where the condoms are, the blonde at the counter staring at him as though he was a piece of meat. Shaking her head she grabs a basket and heads to the medical supplies throwing everything in she needs to tend to her bullet wounds and any other wounds she was more then likely to receive.

Once she's grabbed at least three of everything she throws in some painkillers before walking over to the hair care section, her eyes scanning the dyes as she realizes the blonde hair needs to go. She could go back to her natural black but that was too obvious, her eyes land on a phoenix red and she smirks grabbing two simply because of the name before heading to the counter.

The blonde sighs impatiently as she rings up Jamie's items, her green eyes straying to the man still at the condoms every few seconds.

"look darling if you want to fuck his brains out do it in your own time, i'm on a bit of a tight schedule here" Jamie growls causing the blonde to turn back to her, her eyes wide

"S..Sorry"

Jamie nods as she finally speeds through the items and handing over the right total grabs the bags and heads out the drugstore heading in the direction of home. Running up the stairs to her apartment she unlocks the door and heads inside, fastening all the locks behind her. Walking into the living room she stops short the bags dropping to the floor with a dull thud as her eyes land on Blondie leaning against her fireplace.

"How did you" she starts causing him to turn to face her

"It takes more then that to get the jump on me" he shrugs nonchalantly

"What do you want, seriously you are bordering on stalker tendencies"

He sighs and pushes off the wall and heads over to her, she tilts her head back as he comes to a stop in front of her, his much taller frame dwarfing her. Her head only just reaching his chest, his blue eyes dart between her brown ones before he steps past her heading for her door.

She watches bewildered as he unlocks the locks and heads out shutting the door behind him leaving her in silence, her head whirling at his actions.

"Strange, strange man" she murmurs picking the bags up placing them on the table.

Reaching inside the bags she grabs the two boxes of dye before heading towards her bathroom, her to do list running through her mind as she lists everything she needs to do before she can leave New York behind, as well as Marie.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Six hours, one shower, two bottles of hair dye and new bandages later she was ready to leave town. Her bag was packed and currently sitting near the door. Jamie stood in the middle of the living room, her eyes darting over every corner to make sure she didn't leave anything before dropping her house key onto the table.

Grabbing her bag she heads out the apartment, stopping in the doorway she takes a deep breath and channels her curse to her hand watches as her hand glows bright white before it engulfs in flames, the orange flames heating her face. Flicking out her hand she watches as the flame shoots into the apartment hitting the wall, the gasoline she poured earlier mixing with the flames causing the orange demon to spread quickly across the wall and down onto the floor.

Shutting the door on the flames she heads down the stairs and out the front door just as the fire alarm rings, turning left she walks up the road, stopping beside a random car. Checking the sidewalk and noticing nobody around she uses her curse to melt the car lock. Pulling open the door she throws her bag into the back before settling into the drivers seat, noticing a screw driver on the passenger seat she grabs it jamming it into the ignition, the car roaring to life as she twists.

Pulling away from the curb she heads down the street, passing her old apartment complex just as the window of her old apartment shatters the flames following the glass, the orange demon looking for more oxygen to feed it's destruction. She smirks watching as people run out of the building, their mouths emitting screams, none of them understanding what was happening.

Driving on she turns onto the route to take her out of New York and pressing down on the pedal she breathes as the scenery of New York begins to pass, a small portion of the weight lifting off her shoulders as she watches the buildings thin.

Her mind drifts back to blondie and why he was in her apartment, she'd searched it top to bottom after her shower and she didn't see anything missing nor did she see anything that shouldn't be there. His actions had raised more questions then the fact that SHIELD wanted to talk to her.

Remembering that SHIELD wanted to talk to her, she takes her right hand off the wheel and reaches inside her leather jacket, her hands closing around the USB stick. Pulling it out of her pocket she sighs thinking that it was this little thing that was causing the bounty on her head, if she had only gone and handed it in she wouldn't be wanted, well she would for treason against a company she had never met but other then that she wouldn't have random people trying to kill her at every turn.

It was times like this Jamie was almost inclined to ask for help, she was tempted to find someone she could trust and let them lead her out the shit hole and into the light you could say.

But she had no one that would do that for her. She had never made ties before, never made friends and she sure as hell didn't make connections. It wasn't the way she was trained, no ties means less mess to clean up.

It was why when she left Clint she destroyed everything, the credit cards she'd used at the time, the cellphone she had, hell even the bank account she was using. She cut all ties to that life and as much as she'd love to turn to him, he was in DC living his life whilst she ran like hell to keep hers.

No life was easier without ties and bonds.

* * *

**End Note - Sorry if this chapter seems shit. I honestly didn't know what to write. Oh and by the way i don't actually know if you can hijack a car using a screwdriver so don't attempt it okay guys.**

**I really don't know how to introduce Clint into the story fully, you know have him interacting with Jamie. So drop me some ideas people, i'd love to hear them. I want to get the FireBird (Clint/Jamie) moments happening **

**Anyway Enjoy and leave a review please. It means a lot.**


	6. Chapter 6

Clint sighs looking over at Steve seated in the drivers seat of the truck the two had managed to get a hold of. The man had been silent since he left Jamie's apartment, something was bugging him and Clint didn't know what it was. Shaking his head he glances down at the tablet in his hands watching the red dot move along the map. Jamie had a good two hours on them but due to the tracking devices they could follow her no matter how far she ran. It was currently early morning and the three of them were still driving, Jamie had started at 7 in the evening with Steve and Clint following at 9. Mostly to give Jamie enough time to feel safe but also due to the fact they both had to report in to Fury and explain what had happened at the hospital.

Clint's thoughts drift back to when she had spotted him on the roof, he knew the distance between them had meant she hadn't seen his face but she **had** seen him in that alley and was either now thinking he was involved somehow or she thought she had officially lost her mind. Either one was highly plausible given the current situation. But when she had glanced at him on the roof he could clearly read the fear in her body movements. She was scared and he wanted nothing more then to help her get over it, but he knew that was impossible

His thoughts drift to what Steve had told him about their conversation, how she had acted when he mentioned SHIELD and how she had gotten one over on him. His nose was still busted and had taken on a purple red tinge and listening to him breathe Clint could tell it was slowly becoming a problem. But Steve had smiled when he told Clint about it, a smile of respect at what Jamie had done to ensure her safety and remove what she had assumed was a threat.

Clint knew it took a lot to get Steve's respect quickly but his waif of an ex-fiancee had gained it just by hitting the super soldier with a few hits to the nose. She was slowly becoming something Clint had never expected and as much as he'd like to say he didn't enjoy it, he did. She was strong, smart and knew how to avoid certain situations and for someone like him he could appreciate it. Now if only she could avoid getting herself killed.

The red dot stops moving and Clint stares at it for five minutes waiting for the moment it was going to move again, when it doesn't he taps on the location and shows it to Steve who nods and begins to drive faster. She had stopped at the outskirts of Boston and Clint was curious as to what made her go to another big city, if hoping to get lost in the crowds was her plan he was going to harshly remind her what happened in New York.

"Why Boston" Steve murmurs breaking the silence and voicing Clint's exact thoughts

"No idea" the archer shrugs

"What is the normal distance between Boston and New York"

"About four hours drive. Why?"

"Jamie has had us driving for six hours, which means she's been driving for eight. Yet she stops at somewhere that takes four hours to reach"

Clint's brown creases in confusion as Steve's words sink in, if she was going to stop at Boston she should have been halfway there by the time Clint and Steve started driving after her, yet it took her six hours to reach and seeing as Steve's calculations are right it's technically double the proper time.

"What has she been doing for the extra four hours"

Steve shrugs casting Clint a quick glance before returning his eyes to the dark road ahead of them pulling onto the exit to take them to Boston. Clint's eyes drop back to the tablet to see Jamie in the same place, his mind whirling a mile a minute. Tapping his fingers across the laptop he pulls up the records of Jamie's journey, his frown deepening further as he sees she had pretty much drove in circles before landing in Boston.

As Steve hits some traffic Clint shows him the tablet and a frown settles over the blonds features as well as he looks at her journey.

"Someone must have tailed her?"

"Who" Clint asks "We watched her steal the car, no one else was on the street and if they were they were distracted with the fire Jamie had caused"

"Someone must be tracking her like we are"

"But how have they managed it"

Clint hated the way the response sounded snappy he didn't mean it but this mission was becoming more than he bargained for and just when he thought he'd understood everything, something else came along and tipped it on its head. He sighs softly flicking back to the map showing Jamie's location and after seeing she was still in the same place he leans forward dropping the tablet onto the dashboard.

"You loved her didn't you" Steve comments after a few moments of silence

Clint snaps his head to the super soldier and frowns, something he seemed to be doing a lot recently.

"What"

"I said you loved her didn't you, underneath all that bad shit that happened in your relationship you truly loved her"

Clint snorts gently running a hand down his face a large huff of breath leaving his lips as he looks back out the window and away from the questioning gaze of his comrade. He had thought the same thing the other day but he had yet to actually name it as love. He cared for her, deeply and he enjoyed coming home to her but due to the volatile undercurrent of their relationship it couldn't have been love. He voices as much to Steve who just nods calmly.

"Sometimes things are what we believe them not to be. You call it volatile yet others would call it love"

Clint ignores the soldiers words, he knew he was only trying to help but he hadn't been present during his and Jamie's volatile relationship. How could they form bonds of love when they couldn't form bonds of truth. Their whole relationship had been pretty much a lie.

The car goes silent as neither male speaks but instead travels down the road in silence, Clint was thinking over everything and nothing with Steve concentrating on the road. Soon the Boston skyline comes into view and Clint reaches forward to grab the tablet.

"The car is still outside the motel but it looks like she herself is on the move"

Steve nods and Clint tells him the directions to the motel, soon they pull up and Steve pulls the car into the darkest area of the motel. The pair climb out the car and Clint glances down at his phone which now had the tracking application open.

"You check around here and see if she's settled in, I'll go follow her on foot"

Steve nods and heads towards the stairs, Clint reaches inside the car grabbing his gun from the glove compartment before throwing the tablet inside. He tucks the gun into the waistband of his pants pulling his jacket down to make sure its covered before walking out of the parking lot and onto the street.

The four block walk to where Jamie has stopped takes him ten minutes, his eyes scanning every face he passes inconspicuously to make sure no one appears threatening. He soon comes across the diner Jamie is in and spots her seated near the back, her bright red hair standing out amongst the bright yellow coloring of the walls. Taking a deep breathe he steels himself before pushing open the door, the chime of the doorbell rings out like a siren in the quiet atmosphere, some of the patrons turning to see the new arrival.

He ignores them and continues walking towards the back, the one person he had his eyes on not lifting her head but instead staring down into the cup in her hands. Shaking his head he drops into the leather seat across from her and smirks as her head raises, her eyes widening as they land on his face.

"Hello love" he smirks

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

If someone had told Jamie that a year after breaking up she would be seated across from her ex-fiancee in a dive diner in the middle of Boston, corporations chasing her wanting her dead and her stomach healing from bullet wounds. She would have laughed in your face and booked you into a mental hospital but as fate was a bitch that was exactly what was happening.

Her eyes drink in his features from his blue-gray eyes, his light brown hair and the smirk planted on his full lips. He was slouched in the booth in a relatively relaxed way but she could see he was also on guard about something. His eyes kept glancing from her face to the patrons in the diner and back again in a wild roundabout.

"Clint" she nods finally addressing his welcome, his voice as husky as she remembered

"You've been busy love"

She glances at him to wonder what he means, her mind flashing the memory up on the alley when she got shot. Her eyes widen as she puts two and two together and looks back at the man who used to warm her bed.

"You work with Blondie" she growls "You're a SHIELD agent"

"And you're an assassin" he shrugs flippantly "Strange how things work out"

She shakes her head before standing up from the booth and heads out the diner, leaving him to pay her bill. With a quick glance over her shoulder she notices the elderly waitress zone in on him as he stands and bustle over, a smirk crosses her lips before she darts out the door and breaks into a run heading down the sidewalk. Thankfully the streets have begun to clear as she couldn't handle having to keep dodging people whilst making sure Clint doesn't catch her.

"JAMIE"

His voice rings out behind her and she curses picking up the pace and ducks down an alley and running to the end before turning to exit the alley onto another street. The sound of heavy footsteps ring out behind her closing the distance. As she goes to turn left a rough hand grabs her arm swinging her around and into a hard chest, the action causing the breath to leave her lungs on a harsh hiss.

"Stop J"

Clint's lips brush against her ear as his chest pushes into her back as it rises and falls with his harsh breaths. Her own wasn't fairing better as her lungs try to pull oxygen back in after being forced to exhale it harshly. She goes to walk forward but the hand on her arm tightens before pulling her back into the alley they'd just exited before spinning her around to face him.

"I take it Blondie doesn't kill but you do" she spits

"I'm not going to kill you J"

She snorts a laugh as she takes a step back from him, the closeness to him not helping her concentrate on the task at hand. He mirrors her step so she takes another one and another but soon stops as her back crashes against the wall. He smirks seeing the situation and she sighs shaking her head.

"Just kill me Clint. Who you work for won't keep me alive, so why not save them a job"

"And how do you know you won't survive"

She wanted to laugh at the situation she was currently in, here she was talking about her impending death with her ex-fiancee who happened to work for the company that wanted her dead. No matter their past and no matter how many times they had lain together it couldn't change the fact that they were now enemies.

"I've killed, I've tortured and when that got boring I handed over the means to other people for them to do the killing" she whispers "I have years of blood on my hands Clint, that can't be ignored"

"We all have a past we regret"

"Even you" she questions quirking an eyebrow

"Even me"

"Yeah but yours doesn't include your first kill taking place when you were eight years old"

"No but we all get dealt hands we just have to deal with"

She wanted to scream as one certain emotion bled into his eyes, an emotion she hated like nothing else in this world. Pity. She didn't want his pity, she had made her choices, she was had made the choice to pull the trigger, she had made the choice to end those lives, she had made the choice to torture people till they were nothing more than a quivering mess on the floor. Yeah okay she would have been killed if she left her targets alive but she chose how to kill them, some of them she could have easily hidden but she didn't.

"I don't need your pity" she growls

He goes to say something else when a commotion at the entrance to the alley stops them both short, with a quick glance they see two average sized man talking. Both dressed in black and moving her head back a little she notices a gun slotted into the waistband of the first guy's trousers. No doubt the second one would be easily as packed. Glancing back to Clint she sees his eyes darken as he thinks, it was something that used to make her laugh. He was a man of few words when he wanted to be but his eyes gave away everything.

"Don't hit me"

She goes to open her mouth to say something but can't as his lips come crashing down onto hers silencing her, his hands drift to her waist pulling her body closer to his own as her arms automatically wrap around his neck, a position the two of them knew very well. Her hand slides into the hair at the bottom of his neck and pulls gently as his lips leave a heated trail across her chin, neck and up to her ear.

"Gun in my waistband" his breath warming the skin of her ear causing shivers to run down her back

"Same"

She brings her arms down from around his neck and around his back her right hand around to the gun as he copies the motion. Feeling thankful that he was wearing a long jacket that covered her current actions she uses her fingers to flick off the safety before gripping the butt, the metal molding to her hands as she grips it tightly.

Tilting her head back as Clint continues to press small kisses to her neck she opens her eyes into slits and glances at the entrance to see the two men walking closer, their steps quiet and precise telling Jamie they were at least highly trained and knew what they were doing. She just hoped and prayed that Clint did too, she'd hate for him to end up dead.

"Ready"

She nods her head slightly, the movement small enough that only Clint could catch it due to his head brushing against hers with the movement. She feels the metal of the gun slide up the skin of her back and begins to gently pull on Clint's releasing it from his belt. Taking a deep breath she pushes Clint back who goes with the motion and the two of them raise the guns firing bullets at the two intruders.

The men duck down and Jamie curses as she drops to her haunches, Clint copying the motion on the other side of the alley, she listens closely to the guys movements trying to predict what their next movements would be. One of them goes to stand and she switches the gun to her left hand and pulls the trigger, the sound of a body hitting the floor followed quickly by another.

"What is it with me and fucking alleys recently" she curses standing back up to her full height.

"You are having a bad run with them" Clint laughs causing Jamie to give him the one finger salute

Her head lifts to the entrance as two SUV's pull up and men start to pour climb out all dressed like the two they had just taken down, she begins to walk backwards until she's stood in front of Clint who grabs her arm gently, the two of them staring at the men as they all pull out guns.

"Time to run" She states turning on her heel and heading out the alley

The two of them head the way Jamie had intended to go before Clint caught her, their footsteps silent as they chew up the ground beneath them, their breathes leaving their lips in calm steady puffs. Luckily the people of Boston aren't stupid and the ones remaining on the sidewalk soon move as Clint and her run down the sidewalk with guns being fired behind them.

"Here grab this"

Jamie swings her head to Clint who is holding out her gun, she grabs it wondering what the hell he is doing when he pulls something out of his pocket and puts it into his ear. Chancing a glance behind them she notices a guy with a big ass machine gun and grabs hold of Clint pulling him into the next alley as the bullets shower where they were previously stood in lead and gunpowder.

"Cheers" Clint nods

"Just keep running and hurry up doing whatever the hell it is you're doing"

He just nods and grabs his phone, Jamie sighs and keeps glancing behind them as they run to the end of the new alley and turn right, the road being one she had walked down earlier to get to the diner.

"Steve" Clint says from beside her "We've got a problem"

Jamie snorts at his wording but doesn't say anything else as they continue to run, ducking into another alley the two of them run to the end and out the other side, deciding between them subconsciously that zigzagging their movements was the best option.

"Grab the car and come get me and Jamie" he says into what Jamie can think is the ear piece he placed in his ear earlier, his phone nowhere to be seen. "I'll explain when we're not being shot at"

"Yes" Clint shouts "Bullets and big guys in all black are trying to kill Jamie and now me. Just get the car ready to roll"

"And what is the plan after that" Jamie asks as they duck into another alley, the motel growing closer and closer the more asphalt they chew up.

"Erm" he ponders "I didn't really think that far"

"Gathered" she sighs "He better grab my shit as no doubt you broke into my room"

"Hey i left Steve there whatever he did was his choice" Clint chuckles "What room were you staying in though"

"11"

Clint repeats the room details to Steve telling him to grab her stuff before taking the other gun from Jamie's hand. More bullets are fired behind them a slight scream leaves Jamie's lips as she feels one rip through her shoulder. Ignoring the pain she runs faster smiling in relief as they come up to the motel and Steve is sitting in a car waiting idly at the entrance. Her and Clint run over and throw the car doors open, Jamie the back and Clint the passenger side. The minute their inside Steve puts his foot down on the accelerator speeding away.

Jamie sits up on her knees glancing out the back window as the car speeds down the road and into the center of Boston.

"We need to get out of the city"

"Why" Steve asks

"Their plates were Boston issued, which means they have to a lot of associates within the city, people they can call on to find us. The longer we stay here the higher the bounty on my head becomes and now the two of you"

"We were tasked to keep you safe"

"If that's the case then drive quicker we have company"

Behind them and gaining quick were two more SUV's, Jamie ducks as bullets fire down on the truck from the two guys who had just decided to hang out of the passenger seat windows. Noticing her bag on the floor she reaches down and pulls it open to find the spare ammo.

"Get us onto a quieter street"

Steve nods and swerves around the corner, Clint looks back before ducking his head out of reach of the window.

"Shift over"

She shuffles backwards as he climbs into the back and grabs the long black box that was behind Steve's seat, he opens it up and Jamie watches as he grabs the black object and with a quick punch out it opens up into a bow.

"I dated robin hood"

Steve laughs from the front seat and Clint sends her a glare as he grabs the quiver she only now notices and leans it against the leather before moving onto his knees and looking out the window at the two cars.

"How many when you looked" he asks

"Two"

"Huh now four"

"Fan-fucking-tastic"

Grabbing her spare ammo she places it on the seat next to her and reaches over to Clint and grabs the other gun from his waistband. Ejecting both ammo clips she reloads them before shuffling back into her previous position, Clint at her side, bow drawn. She lifts the guns and shoots out the window, the minute the glass falls Clint lets an arrow go which hits one of the guys on the right causing him to fall out the car. Jamie holds back her chuckle as she begins firing at the cars on the left.

The two of them work in a tangible rhythm as more and more cars join the chase, Jamie firing on the left and ducking into Clint when she needs to reload and Clint firing arrow after arrow whilst making sure Jamie is covered enough to reload. Pretty soon there is one car left and Jamie only has one clip of ammo. Sighing she indicates to Clint who nods and ducks down with her, the leather seat being their only hiding spot.

"You still good Steve" she asks

"I'm good"

She nodded even though the blonde couldn't see it and reloading the ammo clip into her gun throwing the other one down near her legs. Taking a deep breath she looks up at Clint wondering how they were going to take down this last car.

"Shoot the engine if you can" he responds already knowing the question in my eyes "Ill do the rest"

"Sure Robin hood"

She couldn't help it, the situation was too serious and knowing his main weapon was a bow just reminded her too much of the archer everyone had grown up knowing. He glares at her again but doesn't say anything as they both pop back up and Jamie begins to shoot the engine, at around her fourth shot she see's smoke form from under the hood and Clint pushes down on her back gently so she ducks down. She watches Clint as he readies an arrow and lets it go, a few moments later an explosion can be heard and she peeks over the seat to see the car now in flames.

"Impressive" she shrugs

"Get us out of here Steve"

"Already on it" Steve says glancing into the rear view mirror "We'll be out of Boston within about five minutes"

"We need a new car" Jamie idly comments looking at the mess in the back, the window was busted out, the seat had bullet holes as well as burns from Jamie's gun muzzle flash and the back of the drivers and passenger seats were also victims of bullet holes. The floor of the truck was littered with empty shell cases and ammo clips.

"Yeah we do" Clint comments next to her

Jamie looks over and stares at his face before laughing loudly dropping back to lean against the car door. The whole situation was crazy, what normal girl shot at people from the back of her car with her ex-fiancee, who was using a bow and arrow, not any normal girls Jamie knew.

She also knew she shouldn't be getting comfortable, Steve and Clint were to bring her in to SHIELD, she was there mission. No matter how much they tried to dress us keeping her safe the outcome of all of this was her locked inside a cell for the rest of her life, or buried in an unmarked grave with a bullet lodged inside of her brain, depending on which one SHIELD deemed her worth enough of.

_Either way, it fucking sucked._

* * *

**End note - wow this chapter just kept writing itself. I hope i included enough action for you all, and don't worry Jamie and Clint will be arguing in the next chapter. This was more of an adrenaline type thing.**

**Review and let me know what you think guys. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear your feedback.**

**Also if you're interested i have another Avengers story on the go called Love of a Hero, so check it out if you like.**

**Peace, Nikki xxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END PLEASE READ!**

Jamie knew she couldn't stay, her body was beginning to coil like that of a snake ready to strike, her eyes cutting to the door at least four times in the space of two minutes. Her fingers fiddled with the fabric of her shirt as he paces around the small motel room, her body angled defensively as she passes Steve and Clint who are sat at the small two seater table near the window.

The adrenaline had worn off a few hours ago when Clint managed to steal a new car and her and Steve disposed of the one they had trashed beyond belief. Her flight instincts had kicked in when Steve began driving around looking for a new motel and being trapped inside said hotel room was making her go crazy.

_She couldn't stay._

She knew she had no hope of running, the small table was close to the door and even if she did manage to pull open the wooden door it would only take one small movement from Steve and she would be in the steel trap of his arms. No she had to bide her time, pick the right moment to run, the moment which would gain her the upper hand, a head start which she dourly needed.

Her two male companions and self assigned bodyguards were seated at the table, their heads together as they talked on the phone with whom Jamie could only guess was their boss, their voices were low and whilst she didn't catch the full conversation whenever she paced passed them she heard her name enough times to know it was a mission report.

That was the reason she couldn't stay, as much as she felt safe she knew it couldn't last. They would have to hand her over to their boss, she would get questioned, maybe tortured and if she was really unlucky thrown in a lab to be prodded and tested till she had nothing left to give and then thrown into a small dark hole alone. She knew their orders were to keep her safe and recover the Intel she stole but what about after, after they've done their mission. What happens then, to be honest she didn't want to know.

She wanted to run, run as fast as her feet or a car could take her. A selfish part of her wanted Clint to be the one to chase her, a large game of cat and mouse played over various continents and zip codes, the two of them near but never catching. But she knew she couldn't permit him to that life, it wasn't fair and she wanted him to have that at least. She wanted him happy.

Dropping down onto one of the small beds in the room her and Clint were to share, Steve had the one next door she looks over at the two men and studies their profiles. Steve was a born soldier, everything about him was serious. He was sat in the chair, his back rigid and the movement of his lips as he spoke precise, he didn't sugar coat things he was straight to the point.

Clint was someone she couldn't read, his body was relaxed as he slumped in the seat, his head tilted towards Steve as they both spoke, the voice on the other end only speaking into their ears so she couldn't hear. But something was alight in his eyes, an emotion she couldn't understand as every now and then his blue grey orbs would cut to her and stare before turning back to his task. His fingers beat a silent tune against the wood of the table, his leg jumping to the same beat. She wished she knew what was going on in his head.

When they were together she tricked herself into believing she knew everything about him, every emotion he felt and every thought he thought but looking at him now she knows she never really knew him, he was two different people molded into one body, she wouldn't be surprised if there was more then two sides of him, some of them only coming out when needed.

He was like her in a way, always had a mask to wear to fit the occasion, closed off enough to keep the real them from bleeding in but not enough to make someone suspicious of their intentions. Always keeping people guessing.

_She hated puzzles and Clint was the biggest puzzle yet._

Sighing softly she leans back on the bed her eyes trailing to the mustard yellow of the ceiling, her thoughts raging as she runs through different memories in her head of times spent with Clint, some of them featuring Natasha who Jamie once believed was a friend but now didn't really know. If Clint was a spy Jamie could bet a pound to a penny so was Nat. She didn't know if she was angry or proud.

Underneath it all though she could admit that her and Clint did have a good four years together, underneath the lies and the fighting and the basic trying to kill each other without realizing it, they were happy. Well she was, she didn't know about Clint.

There was times that the two of them would just sit outside and look up at the DC sky, pointing out stars and Clint teaching Jamie all the constellations or sometimes just sitting in silence. Other times being when Jamie got ill Clint would make her soup and help her when her body was too weak to function on its own and then sit and watch ridiculous romantic films with her just to make her feel better.1

Other times when they would start a large prank war that would go on for weeks, both of them pulling in Natasha to help, each prank becoming more and more extravagant as the days went on. Only stopping when one of them gave up or got injured. Jamie still had a scar on her hand from one of the pranks, she couldn't remember what happened exactly only that a large knife had pierced the soft skin between her thumb and forefinger and Clint had been exceptionally caring that week to earn her forgiveness.

Silence meets her ears and she sits back up and looks over at the men to see them staring at her with a withdrawn look on their faces. She raises an eyebrow and Steve is the first to speak.

"Fury is on his way"

"Fury?" She questions not having any idea who he was

"The director of SHIELD" Clint replies instead, his voice emitting a tone of defeat

She nods and resumes her previous position of looking at the ceiling. If the boss of SHIELD was on his way she defiantly had no way of escaping.

"How long" she breathes, her voice quiet but the two men hear her anyway

"About an hour, he has to come up from DC were SHIELD is initially based"

A small shiver runs down Jamie's spine as the words sink in, for four years she lived near the corporation that was now after her. she guessed it was poetic justice if she was being truthful.

"Okay" she sighs in defeat

"I'm going to get some drinks from the diner round the corner do you want anything"

She could hug Steve sometimes, he knew when something was getting too serious and took the first escape he could. But his words also had the magic touch of making the awkwardness disappear if it was only for a small time.

"A cup of tea please" she replies, her body thirsting for a little taste of home "Two sugars and a splash of milk"

She sees Steve nod out the corner of her eyes before he turns to Clint and gets his order, once Steve has them he heads out the door without a backward glance, when he was Jamie wished he'd stayed. The awkwardness drips into the air so thick Jamie feels it chocking the back of her throat. She jumps up from the bed and walks over to where her duffle bag was unceremoniously thrown and begins to rifle through it.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm still covered in blood from the gunshot wound and I stink so I'm grabbing a shower, will redress my wound and then face your boss"

Keeping her back to him she grabs a clean shirt, jeans and underwear and pads across the room to the bathroom. Scrunching her nose up at the state of the place she drops her clothes onto the counter near the sink and leans over starting the shower. Standing back in front of the mirror she reaches up with her left hand and begins to undo the bandage wrapped around her shoulder, hissing as the fabric pulls on the stitches Clint had given her to seal the wound.

Dropping the soiled bandage into the small metal bin she undresses out of her equally soiled clothes, the white of her tank top now stained in red, small droplets of red were also present on her trousers. She makes a note to burn them as she steps under the hot spray of the water. Resting her head against the cold tile of the wall she looks down at her feet to watch the water swirl red, not knowing if it was her blood washing off or the excess dye from her hair.

Remembering her strict timeline she reaches over and grabs the motel issued shampoo and squirts a healthy amount into her palm before reaching up and rubbing it into her hair. She begins to hum a tune she heard the other day on the radio, the lyrics meaning more to her then anyone else who listened to them, she believes the song was by a singer called Cher. Jamie could say she'd never heard of her before, she was more into rock music and avoided pop music were possible. The humming soon turns into soft signing as she recites the song that could have been the theme song to her and Clint's relationship.

"_I'd rather you lie to me_

_And look me dead in the eyes_

_Tell me I'm the one you need_

_I don't wanna start over babe_

_This was my everything_

_You were my last chance, you see_

_Truth is overrated to me_

_Is this all common now?_

_Where's that fairytale that sold us out?_

_Oh, do you really think you're the only one with secrets now?_

_See, you're like me_

_You're just like me"_

Rinsing off the shampoo and reaching for the conditioner she cuts the singing, the lyrics cutting too deeps into her already lacerated heart. Hissing softly as her wounds pull both on her shoulder and her stomach she rinses the conditioner through her hair before reaching for the body wash. Carefully she washes off the dirt and grime making sure to clean her wounds, one of her stomach ones had reopened without her knowing and was helping to tint the water red.

Finishing up she shuts off the water and grabs the towel hanging on the rack near the door and dries off softly, looking around the bathroom she looks for the bandages but curses as she realizes they were in the other room sitting on the table. Wrapping the towel tightly around her she opens the door a crack and peaks out to see only Clint sitting at the table. His hands spinning around one of his arrows as he looks out the window, with a crease to her forehead she wonders why he looks so relaxed when she could of ran. Glancing over her shoulder quickly she notices the lack of window and shrugs.

So that's the reason he looks so calm.

Taking a deep breath she pulls the door open fully and pads along the carpet, red droplets running off her skin and into the carpet with each step. Just as her hands have closed around the bandages Clint's head snaps to her and his brow creases in a frown as he eyes her shoulder, his eyes momentarily flick to her stomach and the frown deepens.

"You've reopened your wounds"

"No shit robin hood" she bites back not in the mood for his acutely aware assessment.

She turns on the ball of her foot and heads back to the bathroom her movements faster than before, she goes to slam the door but something stops it, turning back she sees Clint pushing his way into the room shutting the door behind him. He doesn't say anything as he pulls the bandages out of her hands and comes to a stop in front of her.

"Jump up" he says indicating to the counter

"I do that I risk opening the other wounds" she sighs no longer in the mood to fight

She was tired, her whole body felt like that of a 90year old.

Clint reaches forward and places his hands on her hips tightly before lifting her up onto the counter. He comes to stand in between her legs, his breath hot on her skin which had cooled considerably since she got out the shower. He pulls the towel open gently and Jamie watches as it pools at her waist, her whole body on show for his eyes but he doesn't look at her body, instead his eyes are trained on her stomach as he grabs a small towel and presses it against the blood.

"Hold that" he commands

She replaces his hand with her own and watches as he grabs another small towel and runs it under the tap before grabbing the dressings from inside the cupboard that she didn't see. He rips open the packaging and indicates for her to move the towel in her hand.

She does as she's told and watches as he cleans up the wounds and then redresses them. She was never one for being looked after, plenty a time after a mission she did her own medical procedures, which included a needle, shit thread and a big ass bottle of whiskey to help drown the pain. But this, this was new and Jamie honestly didn't know what to feel.

His movements are quick but gentle as he wraps the bandage around her stomach and back to hold the dressing in place before tying it off. Once the wound is dressed to his standards his eyes drift up her body and to her shoulder, his eyes not once betraying what the scene in front of him was doing to his own body and thoughts.

Her eyes scan his face as he cleanses her shoulder before dressing it and bandaging it the same was a her stomach but making sure she can move her arm. Once it's wrapped he drops the tools he was using and looks at her in the eye, his eyes like steel as he scans her face.

She can't remember who moved first but before she knew it Clint's lips were on her own, her legs wrapped tightly around his body holding him as close to her body as she could get him, her hands wrapped around his neck with her fingers lodged in his hair. His own hands weren't idle as they ran up and down her back leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake.

As his tongue trails along her bottom lip wanting access and her lips part without needing to be asked twice Jamie feels a small sense of satisfaction that she could still influence him to act like this. The bulge in his trousers pressing against her bare thigh told her all she needed to know, his hands hot and wild on her skin confirming it, his tongue telling her all the words he couldn't say.

She still had a hold over him, he still felt something for her. At first she had the impression that he no longer cared hence why he took this mission but now feeling the way his body was coming undone under hands told her this mission was just as hard for him as it was for her to have him be the one coming after her.

Two sharp knocks at the thin wooden door break the spell that had encompassed them and Jamie takes deep breaths to regulate her breathing as Clint leans his head against her shoulder.

"Yeah" she calls over his shoulder, her voice hoarse and sounding as though she had run a marathon in ten minutes

"I've go your drinks and Fury will be here in ten minutes" Steve replies, his voice steady

"Ok" she replies "I reopened my wounds so Clint's just helping me deal with them and then we'll be right out"

"Right"

The sounds of Steve's footsteps moving away from the door filter into Jamie's ears as she looks back down at Clint, his usually pale lips tinted pink from their kissing. He lifts his head and looks her in the eye before leaning forward to brush his lips over hers again. The kiss was fleeting but the heat was still there ensnaring her senses and pooling in her lower region.

Clint backs up as Jamie slides off the counter and leans against it to get her bearings before grabbing her underwear pulling it on over her legs soon followed by her trousers. Grabbing her bra she hisses as her arm pulls and Clint steps forward to help, the two of them not talking as they manage to get her bra and new tank top on without reopening her wounds.

Once dressed Clint heads out the bathroom leaving Jamie along with her thoughts and me questions then answers. She knew in about ten minutes her whole life was going to change and she wasn't completely sure if that was a good thing or a very very bad thing. Shaking her head she grabs one of the other towels and walks out the bathroom drying her hair, chuckling as she sees the red dye start to bleed onto the white towel staining it.

Steve hands her her drink with a small smirk on her face and she shakes her head as she drops onto one of the beds placing the drink at her feet and returning to her task of drying her hair. Out the corner of her eye she watches Clint sip at his coffee, his attention once again on something outside the window.

The three of them sit in silence, Jamie sipping on her tea after giving up on drying her hair. A loud knock comes to the door and Steve stands up slowly peeking out the peephole before grasping the door handle. He pulls it open to reveal a dark skinned man wearing all leather, his face stoic as he scans the room with his one eye, the other covered with an eye-patch. He walks into the room and Jamie feels the tension drift in with him, Steve and Clint both sitting/standing a little straighter respectively.

"Phoenix, how nice to finally meet you" the man replies "I'm Nick Fury the director of SHIELD"

"I wont tell you who I am you already know" she drawls eyeing him warily

Her words earn a chuckle from the man as he leans against the TV stand in front of her, his eyes running over her like a predator eyeing his prey. She sits a little higher and stares back at him unblinking, feeling a little out of sorts a small smile crosses his lips.

"Captain, Barton out now"

As the two men leave Jamie catches herself from calling out to them, she didn't want to be left alone with Fury but instead she takes a deep breathe and slips into her Phoenix facade not wanting Fury to see any weakness.

"You going to kill me now" she drawls taking a small sip of her cooling drink

"Oh god no" Fury replies almost laughing, almost "I have something else planned"

"Joy" she sighs standing up and walking away from him and over to the table

She needed distance, she didn't like how close he was to her, she had seen the gun on his leg and no doubt he had another one on his person somewhere. She didn't have one, her ammo had ran low and she had no means of fighting back, yeah she was with hand to hand, trained in nearly every fighting style there was but she was injured which added a problem.

"So if you're not here to kill me, what are you here for"

She turns to look at him as he pushes himself off the stand and walks over to her, he stops leaving a good amount of space in between their bodies and stares at her straight.

"I'm here to offer you a mission"

* * *

**END NOTE - SO I haven't had any reviews in a while. So please drop me one people, I'd like to know if you guys still love this story and the direction I'm taking it. Your feedback is highly appreciated.**

**Also I'm contemplating doing a series of one-shots featuring the Avengers, Jamie and maybe my OC from Love of A Hero...Just a bunch of one-shots filtering around nothing basically. SOOO drop me some hints of what One shot you'd like to see and I'll see what I can do.**

**ANYWAYS REVIEW PLEASE PEOPLE (minimum of 5 gets a new chapter early.) **

**LOVE YOU ALL. Xxx**

**P.S that song is a true song, it also fits Jamie and Clint so well. My mum is a Cher fan hence how i know it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END. PLEASE READ!**

Clint was pacing, agitation running strife through his body. His mind was a mixture of wanting to know what was happening and charging in the room they'd just been excused from and making Jamie naked and writhing beneath his body as quick as possible. He hadn't meant to show her how much she still meant to him, how much he was still attracted to her but seeing her naked and covered in blood had called to a sick part of his mind.

Glancing up he sees Steve still leaning against the wall next to the door, they'd tried to eavesdrop but Fury must have dropped the silencer gadget making it impossible to know what was happening. Deep down Clint hoped Jamie hadn't killed Fury, he wasn't up to witnessing other SHIELD agents hunting her down and killing her for sure.

Before Clint can say anything to his comrade two agents walk over with large black duffles in their hands and knocks on the door. Fury opens it and allows them to walk in, Clint catches himself looking through the open doorway and at Jamie. She was seated on the bed she was earlier and from what he could see she was in no state of distress.

She notices him looking and sends him a small smile before the agents walk out and the door is once again closed. The two agents walk away without saying a word and Clint looks over to Steve to see a confused look on his face, no doubt Clint was wearing one himself.

"What is going on" Steve mumbles

"No idea" Clint sighs running a stressed hand through his hair "That's the problem"

"She looks fine though"

"Fury knows what Jamie is made of, he knows he would loose going against her on his own"

Well Clint hoped he did, he had read Jamie's file cover to cover so many times he could recite the things she had done. Not to mention he had seen her kill list, it was much larger than his own and he knew deep down she would add to it and wouldn't blink and eye in doing so.

In a weird way Jamie was a lot like Natasha, the two of them trained and commanded by two different corporations for the same reason. But whereas Natasha was now working for SHIELD, Jamie was still working against them. Where Natasha trusted SHIELD, Jamie didn't. He could read that in her eyes and in her body movements. Even when she was sat on the bed, he could still see it. She didn't trust Fury, she didn't trust that she was going to be leaving alive.

After Clint had done at least nine more tracks outside the motel door it opens again and Fury calls him and Steve inside. Clint walks in and notices Jamie sat on the bed still but this time surrounded by guns and ammo, a small smirk on her face as she loads the guns whilst her eyes scan over a file near her knee. Looking up at Fury confused he sees the same smirk on Fury's face.

"Miss Snow has agreed to do a mission for me" Fury states "And you are to help her Barton"

Clint nods and sits down at the small table, Steve was hanging near the door. The sight of guns made him nervous, he didn't like them.

"Sir" Steve starts

"You are to return with me, i have another mission in mind for you" Fury cuts in "There's a car downstairs, your bags are already inside"

Steve nods and wishes Clint and Jamie good luck, Jamie looks up from the guns and sends Steve a small smile before returning to her previous job. Clint stares at his director wondering what the hell was going on that would require him and Jamie to team up.

"You two are going after Viper" Fury says as though reading Clint's thoughts "You two have separate skill sets that will work well together"

"We don't know where they are based?" Clint states

"There is some information in the file Miss Snow is reading that might help with that"

"Okay, what's the time-frame"

"As long as it takes"

Fury walks over to the opposite side of the table and sits down focusing his one eye on Clint.

"In the file is a list of safe-houses the two of you can use, also where the weapons lockers are. I'll make sure they're stocked with your arrows and there's a car downstairs for you to use. We don't need anymore thefts"

Clint nods and runs everything through his mind of what had happened with their previous run ins with Viper, they wanted Jamie dead, that was a given and they also wanted the Intel she stole.

"The Intel" He asks

"She still has it" Fury states nodding to Jamie "She is smart, she's keeping hold of it as an insurance policy"

"An insurance policy for what"

"That SHIELD won't kill me when I've done this mission for them" Jamie says cutting into the conversation "And if they stick to their word i will tell them everything about every corporation and person I have ever worked for"

"Like i said, she's smart"

"No I've just played the game for so long" Jamie shrugs

Clint turns back to face Fury, a confession on the tip of his tongue but Fury raises an eyebrow a small smirk lifts the corner of his lips.

"Miss Snow has already informed me of her whereabouts during the four years she was off the radar and who she was with"

Clint nods slightly wondering how his director was still okay with the predicament, not to mention sending the two of them out on a mission knowing that they had a history together. But Clint guessed it was because Jamie wasn't a SHIELD agent, if she was then someone else would be sent on it, maybe Steve.

"If helps needed to interview any of the agents, you know if they don't give up the location willingly. Agent Romanoff is free for as long as she's needed"

"Yes Sir"

"Make sure that Viper can no longer raise its scaly head"

Clint nods and sees Jamie does the same out the corner of his eye. Fury stands up and with one last look at the two of them heads out the door shutting it silently behind him. Clint sees the keys on the table and grabs them placing them in his pocket, he wasn't in the mood to let Jamie drive a SHIELD issued car.

"Well your boss is a dick"

Clint laughs as he looks over at Jamie, she was currently loading up a sniper rifle with fast hands. He wondered just how many weapons she could use and which ones she preferred. Instead of asking her he walks over and drops onto the opposite bed snagging the file from her.

He reads it over and notices there was gaps in the information, as though SHIELD didn't know everything which was infuriating. How were they supposed to take down a corporation that SHIELD didn't know all the information on. He guessed he could ask Jamie but from the look on her face she didn't know them either.

"Some information in that file indicates they have a base in South Africa, but I wouldn't believe it"

"Why?"

"Because on another page it states Viper's main man is British, take it from me us Brits would not set a base up somewhere that is hot. Yeah we'll visit but after two days we'll complain about the heat"

Clint agrees, he didn't know what she meant but she was British herself so if she said that then it must be the truth. He looks over the page she mentioned to see the guy who ran Viper, he looked like an average guy but had an IQ to rival Tony and Bruce. He wouldnt be easy to outsmart.

"Who is Agent Romanoff?"

"Natasha"

Clint looks up as a snort leaves Jamie to see her looking down at the finished sniper, a small shake to her head. He raises an eyebrow as he watches her dismantle the gun placing it in the bag, not once looking at Clint. He wonders what her problem is but then he remembers how they became engaged, she was jealous of Natasha and if her face was showing anything it was that she still was.

"There is nothing there between me and Nat, we're just friends"

"You don't need to defend anything to me, we're not together anymore remember" she states looking at him with an innocent look on her face "You're fault if i remember correctly"

Her words cut deep to Clint and he growls before standing up and beginning to pace in front of the beds. The same way she could make his body burn she could make his anger boil, she knew how to use her words to hurt and right now she only wanted to hurt Clint.

"Why bring that up?" he questions

"I was simply reminding you of where we stand seeing as you blurred the lines earlier"

"And you didn't" he retorts

"Hey i haven't had sex in over a year. I aren't going to turn it down when it's handed to me on a silver platter"

Clint wished she was male so he could smack the obnoxious smirk off her face but seeing as she wasn't and he had some morals even if the others were shot to shit he walks over to the motel room door and heads outside, Jamie's laughter following him.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

As the door shut behind Clint she knew she'd fucked up but she couldn't help it. What had happened in the bathroom shouldn't have happened and she needed to put some space between them. She was here to do this mission, give SHIELD what they wanted and then disappear. Nothing more, nothing less.

She had already dragged Clint into her drama, yeah okay his boss made sure he was defiantly in it but she was the reason Viper now wanted Clint's head. She had nearly gotten them all killed in Boston, no matter how anyone tried to tell her different.

Shaking her head she stands from the bed and walks over to the other bag SHIELD brought in and opens it up, she sees arrows and what looks to be a back-up bow, turning her head slightly she notices Clint's quiver and other bow leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the bed she was sitting on earlier. She walks over and grabs it, heading back to the bag she sets it on the table and pulls the arrows out, deciding she might as well reload his weapon as she'd done all the others.

Noticing the different arrow heads she decides to leave them, not knowing the exact way he has them and instead slots all the arrows into the quiver and piles the arrow heads next to it on the table when she's done. Reaching into the bag again she notices a sort of uniform and leaves it when she notes the size, though a smirk does cross her lips as she sees the leather trousers.

Noticing a gun under the clothes she grabs it and places it on the table before zipping the bag back up kicking it under the table, grabbing the gun she notices it's unloaded and walks back over to her bed where the guns and ammo were still located. Sitting on the bed she grabs the guns clip and loads it up smirking at the click that alerts her that it's fully loaded. Clicking the safety on Jamie places it with the other guns and stands back up.

Walking over to her bag she grabs it and places it on the other bad opening it up she scans for her darker clothes, smirking as she finds them at the bottom. The clothes she always wore for missions, including the finger-less gloves which protected her knuckles. Jamie could use all type of guns but she was the type of girl who liked to be in the middle of a fight using her hands and feet to finish them off. It gave her a sick sense of satisfaction to watch her body do the damage instead of a gun.

As she finishes sorting out her bag the door opens and she looks over to see Clint walk back in, two cups in his hands.

"Got you another Tea and some food" he grunts

She sighs straightening out and watches as he places the two drinks on the table, his eyes widening as he sees his quiver on the table full.

"I didn't know how you liked your arrow heads, so i left them"

"Why?" he questions "You didn't have to"

"I reloaded all the other weapons so why not" she shrugs absentmindedly and walks over grabbing her new drink

He just nods and settles into the chair pulling his quiver and the arrow heads closer to him, she watches in silence as he puts the arrow heads into their little slots, a sigh leaves her lips as she swallows the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry" she almost whispers, his head comes up at the words letting her know he heard her "For what I said earlier"

He shrugs "Forget it, it's one of the things we were good at"

"Not all the time"

He regards her for a moment before chuckling softly "We had mostly bad J. You can't deny our bad outweighs our good"

"I don't know" she replies chuckling too "The sex was good"

He fully laughs now and she smirks settling into the chair opposite him pulling her tea and her food towards her. She notices he got her favorite, special fried rice, easy on the prawns.

"I'll give you that one"

"And that time at the Zoo where you acted like a big child in the bird sanctuary"

"Hey in my defense I like birds"

"Okay" she smirks taking a sip of her tea "Whatever you say"

"Like you can talk anyway, what about how you acted like a complete fan girl at the Bon Jovi concert i took you to for your birthday"

"Hey in my defense I like Bon Jovi" she smirks using his own words against him

He chuckles and opens his own food and the two of them sit there eating quietly, Jamie was currently trying to remember the other good times they had. There was a few but she guessed Clint was right, they mostly had bad.

"Do you remember that time you pranked everyone in the apartment building?" Clint asks breaking the silence.

Jamie laughs loudly nearly choking on the food in her mouth, taking a swig of her tea she clears her throat and shakes her head.

"I thought the old lady in 9E was going to kill me with her walking stick" she laughs "She was scary"

"She's in her nineties"

"Still scary" she defends "Anyway you didn't see her face when she caught me"

Clint laughs shaking his head before taking another bite of his food, Jamie returns to her own, the silence settling in again but it wasn't uncomfortable more like peaceful. Jamie's head shoots up as she remembers something.

"Did the guy in 12F ever ask the girl downstairs out"

"No" Clint replies shaking his head "He got back with his ex and she slept with the guy in 14D"

"Damn" Jamie curses "I was rooting for them two"

"I do believe you still owe me money from that bet"

"Oh don't start" she laughs "I'll pay you back some day"

"Some day" he clarifies raising an eyebrow

"Mh-mm" she chuckles "When I can be bothered"

"Whatever J"

"You know your apartment building had more drama than half of the shows on TV"

"Yeah true" he chuckles "But we added to it half the time"

"What with the arguments?"

"And when you were hyper and acted like a five year old"

"I never acted like a five year old" she gasps looking at Clint offended

"Oh so there wasn't a time I came home to you sliding down the stairs on a sledge" he snorts "Come off it Jamie you were a bigger kid than half of the kids who lived in that building"

"I was bored" she pouts "You had been gone for six weeks and most of my friends had to work"

Clint just shakes his head and Jamie finishes her food before putting the carton aside, she grabs her now lukewarm tea and drinks it slowly whilst looking over at Clint.

It always made her laugh how they could go from being angry at each other and then an hour or so later be laughing as though nothing had happened. She seriously questioned whether they were bi-polar. She voices it to Clint who just chokes on his coffee before laughing.

"What made you think that?"

"Come on, we argued like hell. Sometimes had make-up sex but then laughed as though nothing had happened. Like now"

"It's just the way we are J. Don't read too much into it"

She shrugs letting the conversation go and stands up grabbing the file off the bed, she grabs the large pad of paper off the bedside table as well and sits back opposite Clint. She grabs the pen from near his elbow and opens the file beginning to take notes.

"Can I ask a question?" Clint says after watching her write for a few moments

"Did you ever regret any of it"

She looks at him and raises an eyebrow, he sighs before looking out the window

"About me and you, did you regret any of it"

"The lies" she replies instantly "I regret not coming clean, maybe we'd still be together"

"Yeah maybe" he replies

"What about you?"

"The lies" he agrees "But also letting you go"

Jamie doesn't know how to respond so she doesn't. She returns to her list writing down things from the file that seem of use. She didn't want to open those old wounds, it had taken her months to get over Clint, though sitting across from him she wonders if she actually ever did.

Clint notes her silence and grabs his bow and begins to mess with it, Jamie didn't know what he was doing. Archery was not her strong suit, she didn't see how it could be helpful but imagining Clint in those leather trousers and his strong arms pulling on the bow string sure did messed up things to her mind. Shaking her head to clear the dirty thoughts she returns to the task she set herself, the silence filling in the words neither wanted to say.

_It was going to be a long night._

* * *

**END NOTE - Thanks for the review guys, if you guys can give me a minimum of five, i will update this story again on Monday. Can you guys do that. Pretty please with a naked Clint on top?**

**Also i touched on their past here so I'm going to ask a question. I want to do the one shots so I'll do you a deal. Is there a specific thing in their past you'd like to see. Like the night Clint proposed, or when Jamie first met Natasha. Or for instance a random one shot with all the avengers and Jamie present that has nothing to do with the story. LET ME KNOW. Please guys, I love hearing all your suggestions.**

**Anyways leave some love, remember a minimum of five means i update early for you lovely people.**


	9. Chapter 9

*Torture-ish scenes later in the chapter. Just a fair warning*

Clint shoots up in the too small bed, his eyes wide and alert, his hands wrapped tightly around the gun that was previously hidden under his pillow. His grey eyes scan the room for any signs of danger but soften as they land on Jamie crouched near the table, a sheepish look covering her features. Sighing softly as his body uncoils he looses his grip on the gun dropping it down next to him.

"I knocked the cup" she says gesturing to the brown mug now spilling its contents, water from what Clint could see, across the floor in a rather large puddle

"Sorry"

"It's fine" he says before the rest of his words are cut off with a large yawn

"Are we heading out soon" Jamie questions when he's finished yawning "It's just Fury told us not to stay here too long. And to be honest I don't want to be here any longer in case Viper get a lock on the location"

"Yeah let me grab a shower and then we'll head out"

Jamie nods and begins organizing the papers on the table, Clint sighs standing up and walks over to his bag grabbing new clothes, he didn't see the point in grabbing his uniform, they were only driving today, hopefully.

After grabbing a quick shower and changing his clothes he heads back out into the bedroom to be met with the sight of Jamie missing. Rushing to the bed to grab his gun he stops as the door opens and Jamie stands in the doorway looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I was loading the car" she replies holding her hands up "Chill out"

"Chill out" he chuckles incredulously "You were the one saying you didn't want people finding you"

"Clint I am wearing your jacket and the hat Steve left behind, both are miles to big for me so i doubt they saw me" she sighs as though talking to a three year old child

"You can't take those risks without back-up J"

"I've taken them a thousand times before without it"

Clint goes to say something but stops as he realizes she was right, she had done this before and according to her file always on her own. Who was he to tell her to do something she knew. Giving up the argument he walks over to his bag and finishes closing it, his dirty clothes in a separate bag as to not stink out the others.

"We good to go"

"Yeah just waiting on you"

He lifts his bag and gestures with one hand for her to lead the way out the door, he walks behind her shutting the door behind him, his eyes glancing to her back where he can see the faint outline of the gun she's stored in her waistband. Saying nothing the two of them walk to the SHIELD issued car and Clint throws his bag in the back as Jamie climbs in the passenger seat.

Climbing in the drivers seat he notices she had taken off the hat and hoodie leaving her in just the tank top and jeans she was wearing when he first woke up, a glance at her feet which were resting on the dashboard showed black combat boots. Smirking slightly he starts the car and pulls out onto the street heading in the direction to take them out of the backwater town they were currently in.

"So where are we headed?"

"Miami" she smirks "Apparently the second in command lives there"

"Miami it is then"

The two of them sit in silence as Clint drives down the roads in the early morning sun, the radio playing softly in the background. He racks his brain to remember where the safe-house was located, he'd never actually done a mission in Miami, most of his were overseas but he had the strangest feeling that Jamie knew where it was, so he could just ask her later.

"I forgot to ask" she starts "What happened to Lucky"

Lucky was the dog Clint had saved from some drug pushers during one of his missions, the poor thing was skin and bones when he took it home to Jamie. She immediately fell in love with it so they kept it, Jamie looking after it more due to Clint's work schedule but he knew it was in good hands, every time he came home it looked fatter than when he left.

"He's with Mr Johnson"

"Is he the old guy who had a fascination with staring at my boobs"

"Yeah" Clint laughs "He's a nice fella under his perverted tendencies"

"I'll take your word for it" she shudders before looking out the window "Glad Lucky is okay though"

"Sometimes i think you loved that dog more than you did me"

Jamie stiffens in the seat next to him and Clint curses, he wasn't suppose to say that, it just slipped out. he hears a sigh and looks over quickly to see Jamie wiping her eyes, he didn't say anything, instead he looks out at the road letting the radio fill the silence creeping up on the two of them.

They drive in silence for hours, Clint concentrating on the road and Jamie looking over the papers she had done last night, and no doubt this morning whilst Clint was sleeping. As they reach the border of Miami, Jamie hands him a piece of paper and upon closer inspection he notices its the location of the safe-house. He hands it back to her with a nod and heads in that direction.

"So the second in command lives three blocks away from the safe-house and apparently has an open house party every Thursday night"

"Open house" Clint questions, his eyebrow furrowing a little bit

"Basically anyone can go" Jamie replies

"I take it we're going" he sighs

"Damn right, it's tonight and the only night we can get to him without his one thousand bodyguards"

"So our plan is to find him and interrogate him during a party filled corner to corner with innocent party goers"

"Pretty much yeah" Jamie nods and Clint laughs

"And how we going to get him alone?"

"That is where i come in" she smirks and Clint scowls as he clicks on to what she was saying.

"J"

"Clint, don't start" she sighs "I have you as backup and I can handle myself. I need to get him away from his bodyguards and according to his file, I am completely his type. Well i will be when I'm finished"

Clint just nods, he didn't want to argue as he had a feeling he would completely lose if he tried. Pulling into the driveway of the safe house he enters his agent number into the keypad and watches as the wrought iron gate opens permitting them entry. He drives up and parks inside the garage, making sure to close the door behind them.

"You go check the rooms, I'll bring the bags in"

Jamie nods and heads inside the house as Clint walks to the trunk and grabs the five bags inside, the weight telling him what was in each one. Shutting the trunk he heads inside, the white of the walls giving him a headache already. The houses were bland, only fitted with what the agent using them needed. Internet, hot water, beds and sometimes food in the cupboards, nothing more nothing less. Sometimes Clint hated seeing them but they were a usual occurrence with the job.

After dumping the bags in the living room he pads through the kitchen where he hears Jamie opening and closing cupboards, he sits on one of the bar stools as she puts the kettle on, turning she pulls herself up onto the counter and looks at him.

"What happens if he recognizes you?"

The question had been bugging Clint since Jamie had dropped her idea in his lap, she was the most wanted threat by Viper and she was going after the second in command, surely he had been warned to keep a look out for her. So therefore walking into his house was a suicide run.

"I won't be wearing my face" she shrugs "And I'll cover my tattoo"

"It's not that easy J"

"It is" she growls "You're over thinking things. All i need to do is get him alone long enough for you to come and back me up"

"And then what" he growls back his anger bubbling under the surface

"We'll decide when it happens"

He scoffs and stands from the seat, his feet beginning a pacing pattern as he tries to control the volcano of anger that was close to exploding. He spins and pins her with a glare, his voice like acid as he speaks.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Are you trying to get me killed" she growls back her voice as acidic as his own "This plan will work but you don't want it to"

"I want you to live"

"You fucking sure about that" she steps towards him, her small frame dwarfed by his much larger but what she lacked in height he knew she made up for in anger but right now he didn't care, he was just as angry "I'm just a fucking mission to you"

"You aren't just a mission. You are more than that" he growls, his hands shaking with the force of the anger he was holding back, restraining himself from grabbing her and shaking her stupid

"When will you get it through your thick fucking skull"

"Oh I don't know, when you fuck off and leave me alone" she snorts

"Not going to happen"

"Okay so If I'm not a mission, what am I?" she questions, her brown eyes staring at Clint with nothing but anger present, an eyebrow raised as she challenged him.

His mind stutters at her challenge, what was she?

"You're my partner" he answers, deciding to go with the safer option

"Then trust me" she all but screams

"How can I do that when all you've ever fucking done to me is lie"

"Straight back at you" she spits

Clint watches as she storms from the room and up the stairs, her feet thumping on the bland floor before a door slamming is the last thing he hears. A growl leaves his lips as he spins on his foot and punches the dry wall next to him, the pain rushing through his hand calming him.

They had been doing so well, they hadn't argued like they used to but then he says one thing and boom it all returns back to how it was, with her angry and him murderous. The two of them saying the harshest things they could think to harm the other. And this time it was Clint who had said the words that cut deep, he could feel the wounds bleeding.

Sighing harshly he walks back into the kitchen and grabs the bags before heading upstairs, he sees the closed door which lets him know the room Jamie is in so he drops her bag outside her room as well as the other one that she probably wanted. Turning on his heel he walks to the room opposite Jamie's and heads in shutting the door behind him harshly, his anger still present.

He stands in the middle of the room, his breath leaving his lips on a hiss as he tries to rid his body of the anger. Faintly he hears Jamie's door open and then close a few seconds later, the softness of the closing telling him she was also trying to calm her anger down. They had a mission to do, they could be angry at each other later.

Well if there was a later.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Clint glances at his watch sighing softly, Jamie had told him earlier they were leaving at eight to head to the party, it was currently quarter to and she was nowhere to be seen. Just like she had been ever since they fought, he wanted to apologize but he really didn't know what to say, it's not like they learned that when they were together, they just learned the best way to get each other naked.

The clatter of high heels makes him turn his head towards the stairs and when his eyes land on Jamie he feels his jaw drop unceremoniously. She looked - different. If he hadn't already known it was Jamie he would have thought a random woman was in the house with him. Jamie was wearing what he assumed to be a brunette wig, a face that looked like it belonged on a southern belle, a halter top and pair of shorts that showed off her curves in the best way and a pair of heels that made her legs look like they went on for miles.

"Do i look like Phoenix" she smirks

"Erm...No" he shrugs, his thoughts still jumbled

"Good" she nods and holds her hand out

He notices the COMM unit and grabs it placing it inside his ear and watches as she does the same before setting her hair back into place. He does another once over as she turns her back to him and lets out a breath as he sees she has indeed covered her most recognizable feature, but he feels his heart clench again as he notices she's unarmed. She was going to go into the house unarmed.

"That's what you're for" she comments telling him he said those words out loud.

He watches as she walks over and bends down sliding a knife into his boot before standing again, it was the only other weapon on his person beside the gun he'd placed in the back of his jeans. How he was going to get it into the house he had no idea, he hoped Jamie did as this was her idea after all and as much as he hated it he was going to see it through.

Plus she'd already proved to him she wasn't going in as Phoenix, the source of their earlier argument.

Clint follows Jamie from the safe house tucking the keys into his pocket as the two of them walk towards their marks house, they decided to leave the car behind as to not raise suspicions, the only sound between them being that of their breathing and Jamie's shoes clicking on the pavement.

They arrive at the house ten minutes later to see the party in full swing, bodies were everywhere, some already drunk and others sipping on the red cups in their hands. They manage to push through the throng gathered outside and to the front door where a guy about six feet tall stops in front of them, his eyes cataloging as the looks the two of them over. Clint growls slightly as he sees the man's eyes linger on Jamie's chest a little longer than reasonable but stops remembering the half-assed plan the two of them were trying to pull off.

"Who are you?" the man questions finally lifting his eyes to flick them between the pair "Can't say I've seen you around"

"I'm Ruby and that's Jeremy" Jamie replies, a southern accent in place "We're visiting and heard through the grapevine that this was the number one place to party"

The guy looks between them again, Jamie's words mulling around inside his brain before he nods stepping aside to let the two of them pass.

"Have fun"

They both nod, smile in thanks and then head inside, their heads swivel around as they both take in their surroundings before Jamie looks at him. He nods and she returns it before the two of them split up heading in different directions. He snags a red cup from a make shift bar on his journey up stairs and leans against the wooden railing, his eyes scanning over all the bodies below.

He watches as Jamie mingles with the locals, her body grabbing the attention of all the males in the room, he glances away as he feels the small flicker of jealously begin to swell in his stomach and concentrates on finding their mark. Said man soon enters the room, his position being the balcony opposite Clint.

"Ruby, your man has entered" Clint speaks into his earpiece, making sure to use the red cup to disguise his mouth moving.

The only reason he used J's cover name was in case anyone was listening who shouldn't be. They couldn't afford to give anything away, the stakes were way too high.

"I've got him"

Clint looks back over at the mark and watches as the mans eyes watch the bodies, the same as Clint's had done moments before. As they stop Clint follows them to see it was Jamie the mark was looking at, Jamie who was currently winning what looked to be a drinking competition, her throat working like crazy to swallow the alcohol she was drinking.

"You have his attention"

"Good" she whispers between sips and Clint glances back to see the mark has started to move lower, his eyes still transfixed on J.

The sea of bodies part as the man walks through, his steps precise as he follows the path that takes him within touching distance of Jamie. As she wins the competition she turns around and stumbles slightly, landing in the arms of the mark. A sweet smile crosses her face as she apologies profusely, her words artfully slurred but her eyes alive with the fire Clint knew was bubbling inside.

Clint moves along the balcony area making sure to keep his eyes trained on Jamie and the mark, every now and them flickering them around the room to count how many security personnel was near. So far the count was at four, each of them poised at a doorway, their faces stoic and trained on their boss.

After around half an hour of Jamie spewing bullshit and laughing like a drunk teenager, the pair hit the jackpot as he asks Jamie to go with him somewhere private. Jamie skillfully glances at Clint over the man's shoulders as she agrees and allows the mark to pull her towards the stairs gently, Jamie stumbling every now and then to keep the ruse of being drunk in play. Clint nods and walks towards the shadows slipping inside them as Jamie and the mark walk past and enter the double doors to Clint's left.

Once the doors are closed Clint walks to a pair of glass double doors at the end of the corridor and leave out of them, snapping his head to the left to see a gangway which wrapped around the outside of the house. Climbing up onto it, he walks across it steadily, every now and then glancing inside the room he passes to find the one he needed.

When he finds it he looks inside and lets a small growl loose from his lips, Jamie was currently lip locked with the guy, her back pressed firmly against the wall near the door. Shaking his head he kneels down next to the glass door, his body hidden by the curtain on the other side and watches as Jamie notices him. She winks slowly and moves her leg in-between the mans own.

Clint cringes as she brings it up roughly, her knee landed squarely in the man's junk. Jamie watches as he drops before jumping over his body and over to the glass door opening it allowing Clint to enter the room. Clint closes the door and pulls the curtain across it blocking the view out of the glass.

"Hook, line and sinker" Jamie chimes, slipping off her heels "Told you it would work"

"Yeah and what are we supposed to do now" Clint asks looking at the groaning man on the floor "His security team will come looking for him"

"Oh we have about three hours" Jamie laughs "Scumbag here told me on the way up that security gives him three hours alone when he's with a woman before they come looking"

"How are you the only woman to use those three hours to kill him" Clint questions

"Because I'm the only one with balls big enough" she shrugs before walking over to the man

"Hello Steven" she smirks reaching a hand up she removes the mesh mask revealing her true face "I believe it's time we had a talk"

"Phoenix" Steve growls his pain now forgotten as he begins to get to his feet

Clint walks over and plants his boot firmly in between Steven's shoulderblades making the man fall to the floor face first. Reaching into his boot Clint hands Jamie her knife and his gun before grabbing the man by the scruff of the neck. Dragging him to his feet Clint marches him over to a chair and drops him down into it, Jamie walks over and hand's Clint his gun back.

"So Steven dear, do you want to tell me why Viper is after me" Jamie asks sweetly, too sweetly

Clint trains his gun on the spot between Steven's eyes as the man looks between the both of them, a strained sigh leaving his lips as he looks down.

"You're a threat"

"A threat to what"

"I'm not saying" Steven replies before spitting at Jamie.

She just sighs and leans forward, the knife planted firmly in her hand. She smiles at him before bringing the knife down and inbedding it firmly in between the mans legs. Clint's body tightens as he feels the pain as well even though he wasn't the one who just had a knife embedded in his junk.

"I'll ask one more time, a threat to what"

"Everything" Steven sighs "Viper is the sister corporation to the company that made you. The man that owns it, is the man that made you who you are. The man who spent the painstaking hours teaching you to control your abilities after your accident"

"Braydon" Jamie whispers

"Why kill Phoenix if you created her" Clint asks

"Hell If I know" Steven spits

Jamie reaches forward and pulls the knife out harshly before bringing it down into Steven's knee, the scream that emits from Steven's mouth making Clint flinch despite his training.

Jamie really was something else.

"Answer the questions and I'll stop treating you like a pin-cushion" she spits, her voice full of venom.

"We knew she had gotten herself on SHIELD's radar and it wouldn't be long before they tried to recruit her. Not to mention get to her spill her guts on every corporation she's ever done a job for. Did you know she's killed over a thousand people"

"I knew" Clint replies stoic

"Yet you still fucked her" Steven laughs "Mind you, she was lying to you at the time. So i guess i can forgive you"

Jamie lands a solid punch to the side of Steven's head as Clint grips the gun harder, his anger from earlier beginning to stew in his stomach again but time time with a new target to take it out on. A target who apparently knows all about the two of them.

"How did you know" Jamie seethes

"We keep a track on our biggest asset Phoenix dear" Steven smirks "But when you came back we thought nothing of it, let loverboy here drift back off into the sunset. But then you screwed up, stealing the SHIELD files and never dropping them where you should. Dropping off the radar never to be seen again"

"You can track me whilst I'm in a relationship but not when I leave the corporation. What a fucking load of good you are"

"You threw the tracker away"

"My necklace" Jamie growls clicking onto something Clint didn't understand

"But why go after her now, why not when she was with me" Clint asks trying to get more information out of the guy before Jamie kills him

"Because she was harmless. Trying to live normally so Braydon let her, he had always had a soft spot for her but when she stole those files we knew she would once again get on SHIELD's radar and we couldn't allow that to happen"

"You haven't done a good job so far" Clint smirks as Jamie laughs next to him

"Not yet"

Clint shakes his head and shares a look with Jamie at her nod he pulls the trigger and the two of them watch as the body slumps to the side falling onto the floor. Blood begins to pour from the wound staining the white carpet. Clint stretches his hearing out and tenses as he hears footsteps running towards the room.

"Time to leave"

Clint dashes forward and unlocks the glass door, holding it open as Jamie runs ahead of him. The two of them walk along the gangway towards the front of the house, watching as people dive from the house as quick as possible screams leaving their mouths.

"There" Jamie points

A truck was underneath them, tall enough for the two to jump onto. Clint nods and helps Jamie over the metal bar and holds his breath as she jumps first, landing on her feet before rolling out of the way. Clint follows after her, landing to her left before jumping to the floor. He holds his arms out as Jamie jumps after him, her slim body landing in his arms.

He lowers her to the floor and with a quick glance at the house the two of them take off running with everyone else, their body's humming with adrenaline and both minds working a mile a minute to digest the new material that was handed to them. One thing was for sure, he needed to ask Jamie about her history.

All of it.

* * *

END NOTE - SO yeah, not too happy with this chapter...but wow it has to be the longest one i've written

Also I am currently writing a Steve/Captain America - OC fic and If you guys want a little teaser to it, let me know by messaging me and I'll give you a sneak peek. I can't post it yet as it's going to be based around the end of this story. And of course if i did post it, then it would give away this story's ending. But if you want a teaser, let me know.

Anyway loves, review and let me know what you think of this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Jamie was almost positive that if she picked up the large steak knife situated on the counter to her left she would be able to cut the tension in the room rather easily. Since they had returned to the safe house, she and Clint had been sat in silence in the kitchen. The only sound the two of them hearing is that of their breathing and the occasional clink of their cups hitting the counter in front of them. She could hear his mind churning from her seat across the room, hear each sigh leaving his lips as he waited for her to speak, waited for the answers to leave her own lips and taint the air around them.

But she couldn't tell them, she couldn't speak of the toxic history that followed her. Her ledger was so full of red she was almost certain no other colour existed, only red. SHIELD liked to think they knew the whole sordid details but in reality they only knew half, they only knew the more tame missions in which she had taken part.

A sigh of impatience leaves her companions lips and she glances over to see Clint has lifted his eyes from where they rested on his now cold cup of coffee, the two of them long since abandoned the idea of drinking them and instead were nursing the dark liquid as though they held all the answers in the world. Her brown eyes meet his own as he stares at her, his jaw clenching slightly as he studies her.

"Who is Braydon" he sighs, the first one to break

"I guess you could call him my handler" she shrugs nonchalantly

"When did you meet him?"

"I've known him my whole life" she answers vaguely

"Did Braydon have a soft spot for you" Clint all but growls

"Highly doubt it"

She knew she was angering Clint with her less than informative answers but she had to protect her past, he couldn't know. He would never look at her the same again if he knew half of the stuff he had done. Steven was lying when he said she's killed over a thousand people, at last count it was near ten thousand. She even lied on her kill list wanting to hide the true number of people whose lives ended at her hands.

"When did you have your accident?"

"I was young"

The harsh sound of metal scraping across the floor meets her ears and she looks over to see Clint stood from his seat, his feet carrying him in an agitated pace across the floor. She stands from her own seat as well and heads towards the exit. Looking over her shoulder at the man in the room she does feel sorry but it was better for him this way.

"I'm off to bed. Night"

She retreats before he can utter a word and all but runs up to her room shutting the door behind her. Leaning against the worn wood she glances around the room and sighs, the place reminded her of a police cell, a single bed shoved against the farthest wall, a small enclosed wardrobe and one set of drawers against the wall near the door. A door to the bathroom was located to her left and was about the same size as a box only holding a toilet, sink and shower.

Slipping out of the trashy clothes in which she wore for the night she grabs the shirt hanging on the end of the bed slipping it on before grabbing the covers and climbing underneath, her body shivering slightly at the cold chill of the material. Lying down on the stone feeling pillow she lets her eyes close and her dreams drift in, anything to help her forget the shit storm waiting for her outside the closed door.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

_The air was harsh and cold as she was unceremoniously pulled from her bed and dropped onto the cold concrete floor, her knees scraping against it leaving small trails of blood to stain her skin. Looking down on it she feels tears well in the corner of her eyes from the pain but tries to hide it, tears were weakness and weakness wasn't allowed._

"_Get up" A voice barks_

_She scrambles to her feet quickly making sure to stand as straight as a pole, her head tilted down and her hands clasped firmly behind her back. She glances quickly at the shoes in front of her and notices they are closer than normal; the person wearing them was no doubt intrigued by her just like they all were._

"_Follow me"_

_She allows the mysterious person to leave first and trails behind them like a lost lamb, her head still tucked into her chest, her only guide as to where she is going is the shoes ghosting across the floor in front of her. They walk for what she thinks must be ten minutes, her body growing colder under the thin night shirt that was covering her small body. Soon they come to a stop outside of a room and her ears make note of a keypad being pressed before the door in front of them opens on a groan._

_She follows the shoes into the room stopping as he does her back straightening and her hands once again clasping together tightly behind her back. The first guy converses with someone else, his Irish twang telling her who he was._

"_Lift your head and look at me"_

_She does as she is told, her brown eyed gaze landing on the two men in the room, one she recognized but the one she had followed here was new. She hadn't seen him before and if the look on his face was anything to go by, she didn't want to again._

"_My dear sweet Serena it has been a while" _

"_Braydon" she nods, answering as she had been taught to do "You look well"_

"_Why thank you child" Braydon smirks "This is Marshall"_

"_Hello"_

_Marshall nods at her in reply, his green eyes flashing as they travel up her body starting at her feet landing on her face a few moments late. She cuts her eyes away from his and onto Braydon's blue ones. He sends her a small smile before walking over to her and coming to a stop behind her, his much larger stature dwarfing her childish frame. She feels Braydon's breathe on her ear and reminds herself not to cringe, her eyes staring forward unwavering._

"_I want you to kill Marshall"_

_She goes rigid, her eyes widening as Marshall drops to his knees in front of her, his bowed just like hers had been but his eyes stayed trained on her. Braydon presses something into her hands, the feel of it colder than the room they were currently stood in. bringing it in front of her she notices it as the gun Braydon always carried, the same gun that had left bruises and cuts across her face for as long as she could remember, the same gun she had grown to fear._

"_N…N…No, No I can't" she whimpers, her hands trembling as she looks down at the gun "I won't"_

_She glances at Braydon who was now stood on her right only for her head to snap to the left as he brings his fist down onto it forcefully. The force would cause anyone else to fall to their knees but she had learnt how to control her body against the attack, make it so she remained standing and only her head moved._

"_Yes you will" Braydon growls now standing in front of her, he harshly grabs her chin forcing it forward and her to face him "You will point that gun at him, pull the trigger and end his life"_

"_And If I don't" she whispers, the words feeling foreign on her tongue_

"_Then that bullet becomes lodged in your brain instead"_

_Braydon stands back up and moves out of the way allowing her to see Marshall once again, his stature the same as it was before his eyes still levelled on her as though she held his life in her hands which funnily enough she did. Raising the gun she notices that it's heavy, too heavy for her small hand but it was also shaking due to her hands doing the same. Taking a too large breath she looks over at Braydon who nods in what could only seem as an encouraging manner she looks back at Marshall._

_Lining the gun up with his hand she pulls back on the trigger, her arm jolts backwards causing a small cry to leave her lips but her eyes were trained forward. Watching as Marshall drops to the floor, blood oozing out of the wound she had caused. Dropping the gun to the floor she drops down onto her knees, the force reopening the wounds on her knees that were caused earlier, her hand gripping her stomach as she dry heaves, her body having nothing of worth to throw up._

"_Good Girl Serena, there is promise for you yet"_

Jamie shoots up in the too small bed; she breathes in harsh puffs, her whole body covered in a cold sweat causing the nightshirt to stick to the skin along her back and chest. Taking deep breathes she manages to calm her erratic heartbeat as she remembers the dream that had caused her the distress.

She had been six years old on that fateful night when she was dragged from her bed by the man she would later kill. It had been her first kill, the first time she had seen the life drain from someone's body and the first time she had ever handled a gun. For the next two years she was trained how to use them as well as how to use her fists as weapons when guns weren't available and then the day after her eighth birthday she was sent on her first mission where she again had to kill, this time a man and his wife. To this day she still doesn't know why they had to die; she didn't know why any of her marks had to die.

It was also ten years after that time that she stopped using the name her parent's had given her two months before she was kidnapped by SRT and her parent's murdered. The same name Braydon used to speak like a prayer as he watched her take down other agents in training, or as she was using her ability and learning her limits and then extending them.

**Serena Marie Ellwood**.

She had killed two people called Jamie and Louise three days prior to her name change, she was freshly sixteen and sent to Budapest where two people were hiding after pissing off the SRT. Her and Braydon were sent in to find them and end them. They played the father/daughter card learning all they could before finding the couple early one morning. Braydon got all the information out of them and she killed them. Three days later she starting using their names as her own, Snow came from the fact that she loved it, loved how fresh and clean it looked in the beginning but always ended up dirty by the end of the day. Sort of like her hands and soul during a mission.

She had been using the name for over fourteen years and still didn't know why, why she used the names of two people she had killed as her own. She believed she was a masochist that was why, tormenting herself by throwing her past in her face every time someone mentioned the name.

Throwing the covers off her bare legs she stands up and pads over to the door pulling open, she notices the dark hallway and the soft snores coming through the door in front of her letting her know Clint was still asleep. Closing her door gently behind her she pads downstairs to the kitchen, flinching at the brightness of the light as she turns it on. Grabbing the kettle she fills it up and turns it on whilst readying herself a cup of tea.

As she waits for the kettle to boil she walks over to where her laptop was sat on the table and turns it on, knowing she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon, a quick glance to the clock on the wall telling her it's two in the morning meaning she was going to be awake for a good few hours before Clint joined her in the land of the living. Hearing the kettle boil she makes her way over to the counter pouring the boiling water into the cup and watching as the teabag coloured the milk the way she liked. When it was just right she drains the bag tossing it into the trash and adds three sugars, needing the boost after the draining her body had undertaken due to the dream.

Grabbing the cup in her hands she pads back over to the table setting the ceramic down on the wooden to next to her laptop before settling herself into the too hard chair. Tucking one of her legs underneath her she pulls up her web browser and begins to check her emails. She smiles as she sees one confirming the anonymous donation she made to Vicky's café. She had truly loved the old woman and hated the way she had left things so using the money in one of her many offshore accounts Jamie had made a generous donation, enough to see that Vicky could sustain the place for many years to come and also do all the repairs that needed to be done.

The next few hours Jamie spent looking over her various email accounts she had in different names, moving the location of her money from one offshore bank account to the other, changing aliases and deleting some that she knew where now common knowledge, as well as creating a few more for future reference. All the while taking sips from her too sugared tea in the meantime, making a new one each time she finished the one previous.

At Six O'clock she had drank around five cups of tea and had done anything and everything she could to keep herself busy but now she was bored. She had ideas running around in her head and no one to bounce them off, she wanted ordered chaos, and she wanted someone to help her figure out this though the world decided it liked her for a change she hears Clint moving around in his room upstairs and grabbing her cup she jumps up from her chair and walks over to the kettle putting it one. Preparing her tea and Clint's coffee she opens the refridgerator and grabs the bacon and eggs setting them on the side.

She knew Clint and knew his brain wouldn't function to the capacity she needed it without food and coffee, so she made the two drinks before setting about making Clint his breakfast. She wasn't hungry, she wasn't a eat in the morning type of person. Just as she hears Clint's booted feet hit the bottom step she finishes dishing out his breakfast and walks over dropping it on the table next to his coffee. As he walks in the room she settles back into her previous seat and pulls up the game she was playing before.

"Food and Coffee are on the table" she comments dryly as he passes ignoring her as though she was a piece of furniture

If she didn't know him well enough she would have been offended but it was just who Clint was, he didn't speak in a morning until he had inhaled at least four coffee's and maybe two portions of food. This was the reason why she had piled his plate so high it could feed an army for a month and had the coffee machine turned on ready.

She watches as he pulls out the chair to her left and drops down into it with a quiet thud before grabbing the knife and fork and all but inhaling the food in front of him, once again for probably the hundredth time since she met him, making her wonder where the hell he put it all. Clint could eat like a horse; he could probably eat a horse. Yet she knew under his all black attire he had a lean, toned body. It wasn't overly muscular like Steve's had been but it was toned enough, toned enough to get her attention many a night.

Shaking her head and ridding herself of the imagery floating around in her brain she plays her game, occasionally drinking her tea as she waits for Clint to wake up fully, he does so a few moments later after inhaling two more cups of coffee as well as all the food she had placed on his plate.

"Thanks"

She nods and looks up from her laptop to see him staring at her, his eyes betraying nothing of his thoughts.

"We're out of eggs and bacon" she comments shrugging "And small question, how do you function on your missions without you customary breakfast of shit tons of coffee and food?"

Her question is met by a laugh from Clint "I don't sleep"

"Thought so" she smirks

She watches as Clint glances towards the tea stain beneath her cup before he glances back up at her, worry colouring her features making her frown.

"I've been up since two" she answers already knowing the question "And I didn't want to wake you as I needed to do a few things to do which occupied my time"

Clint just nods his questions answered and takes a sip of the still too hot coffee, she notices the twitch telling her he burnt his tongue and reaches to her right before throwing a file at him, a file she had the time to make up whilst doing all of her other shit.

"What's this?" he questions placing down his cup and grabbing the file

"Braydon McLeish" she states before taking a sip of her tea watching as he reads the file over with trained eyes.

She didn't hold anything back in the making of it, only the parts that included her. She knew a mind like Clint's, a mind trained the same way as her would be able to handle the harshness of the words included.

"So he was your handler" Clint questions, his tone taking on a more clipped and direct approach.

"Yes and many others. He was solely behind making sure we could take down our targets as well as getting in and out without anyone knowing we were there"

"Did he ever take on missions?"

"Yes" Jamie nods "He did a few with me when I was younger. We pretended to be father and daughter, sometimes Uncle and Niece"

Clint nods and shifts through some more of the paperwork, stopping on the page which contained the list of all the houses Jamie knew Braydon owned or had some interaction with. She didn't know how many were still functional but it was a start. She tells Clint as much and is met with another nod.

"I'll get SHIELD to do some digging, maybe they can find out if they are still active"

"What do we do when we find him?" Jamie questions, she knew what she wanted to do but if Clint was her partner he needed to have a voice in the matter

"Extract what we can from him and then you get to put a bullet between his eyes"

The way Clint said it made something clench in Jamie's stomach, the non committal way Clint spouted the words reminding her of the fact that neither of them were normal, they were trained killers who took like because they were told to, because they knew how and in Jamie's case because she was raised to.

"He won't give it up willingly" she comments instead, her voice dry due to the rather large lump in her throat "He trained us all how to keep secrets"

"Then we send in someone he didn't train and is very good at extracting secrets from reluctant people"

"Natasha" she queries

"Tasha" Clint confirms "But we'll only call her in when we find the son of a bitch, we don't need any more people in the firing line"

"true" Jamie nods "But this could be a long ass chase"

"Then we make it count"

Jamie frowns as Clint stands from his seat and begins pacing around the room again, his hands running over his face in an agitated way as though he was trying to figure out a rather complex maths puzzle and couldn't figure out the answer.

"Do you know if SRT have any corporations directly linked to them in America, not Viper, SRT itself?"

"No" Jamie replies shaking her head "It's an English only based corporation, I guess that's what Viper is for"

Clint nods and continues his pacing, occasionally mumbling to himself. Jamie stands from her own chair and walks over to him placing her hands down on his shoulders to stop the pacing. As he looks at her she becomes conscious of the fact that she is still wearing only her night shirt and also happened to be smaller, her head tilted slightly to be able to look at him squarely.

"Breathe" she commands softly "And for fuck sake stop pacing your making me dizzy"

He chuckles at her words making goose bumps flare up across her skin; she takes a cautionary step backwards and turns on her heel heading back towards her seat. Distance was what they needed; they couldn't fall back into old ways. They had a mission.

"We could shake Viper's tree a little" she supplies "If they want me so bad they'd do anything to shut me down, which if I avoided enough and disabled enough agents, with your help of course Robin Hood, Braydon would have to step in and shut me down himself"

"Would he though?" Clint questions walking back towards the table and this is exactly what she wanted, another brain like hers to throw ideas off.

Why did she break up with him again?

"Braydon trained me personally. I was SRT's number one agent and not many were anywhere near my level only person who was…"

"Braydon"

Jamie nods "So if I caused enough of a riot he would have to come in and personally clean up his mess. He created me In a sense, he shuts me down"

Clint nods and taps his fingers against the table "We need to do it in a way that gets you noticed, but it can't be in the same town, maybe hit a few one after another and make sure either your face Is seen or your tattoo is"

"Or I could just leave evidence of my ability behind"

"How"

"When I've used it a burn mark is left behind, same as any fire but mine has a sort of pink and blue hue to it. Sort of identifies it as otherworldly I guess. If that evidence Is found they will know it's me, plus it gives us time to get in and out. Because think about it, if anyone sees my face or tattoo they'll just try and kill me instead of letting me leave"

"True" Clint agrees "Plus some places we'll have to disable the security cameras which then throws that idea out the window"

"Exactly"

The two sit in silence as they think things over, it seemed strange for Jamie to have a partner. The only times in the past she had one was when she was with Braydon and then it wasn't exactly a partnership, just him telling her what to do and when to do it. But with Clint she had to remember that he was her partner and his life was on the line just as much as her own was.

"That could work" Clint mumbles after a few breathes "Disable a few guards you leave a calling card for all intents and purposes and we move on to the next location before they know it"

"You make it sound so easy"

"It is, you're just over thinking things"

She had to laugh at the ironic spin of the words, she had said the same thing to him in regards to her plan last night and here he was reminding her of them. She had to admit the situation was mostly the same, she could still get identified and killed but this time they wanted at least one part of that to happen and it wasn't the latter.

"Well you think whilst I go for a shower"

She stands from her seat again and heads towards the doorway, only stopping as Clint's voice meets her ears.

"You know you can talk to me about anything right" he says and she looks over her shoulder to see him staring her, his face looking like the Clint she used to know, the Clint who wasn't a SHIELD agent and trying to keep her alive.

"I know"

"I mean it Jamie, I don't care about your past because I have one. I Just want to understand you"

"That's a puzzle you'll never solve"

"Maybe not" he agrees "But I mean it Jamie, you can tell me it all and I won't judge"

"Maybe one day" she comments heading out the room

Because maybe she might just tell him, something in his eyes told her his words were true. He wouldn't judge, he wouldn't walk out on her leaving her alone. Or maybe she was just reading too much into it and really did want to solve the puzzle as to who she truly was and will disappear at the first chance he gets.

She guessed she'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

**Comments about the past would be awesome. Did I overdo it or did it explain a little about Jamie's past whilst still keeping you all intrigued.**

**Anyway hope you enjoyed it. Love you all.**


	11. Chapter 11

Clint often caught himself wondering just who had come up with the plan to infiltrate Viper bases, disable a few guards, leave a breadcrumb and get out. He'd asked Jamie and she not so kindly reminded him that the plan in question was half his and half hers, so they had to share the blame. Clint was almost positive the two of them were the worst plan makers in the world, either that or were bordering on insanity and needed beds in the closest Insane asylum.

Cursing softly he looks back down at the courtyard below him, he was currently located atop of a rather large crane which gave him a full three hundred and sixty degree view of the courtyard below which belonged to the warehouse situated to his left. Whilst he was located up high, Jamie was located on the ground, the two of them in the places they were more comfortable.

Clint knocks an arrow and takes out the guard in front of Jamie and watches as she sneaks closer to the guard tower, her movements precise and professional. He had to hand it to her, she was defiantly a force of nature. He was sort of glad he had never burned her enough in the past that she unleashed her full anger on him; he had the strangest feeling that if she had he would no longer be breathing and would be worm food in a shallow grave somewhere.

"You ready Robin Hood?"

Clint growls at the nickname Jamie refused to drop "I wish you'd stop calling me that"

"Oh baby there's no fun in that"

"Just get on with it flames"

"Flames" she questions and he watches as she turns her head towards him an eyebrow arching slowly "That's a new one"

Clint just shakes his head and watches as she grins widely before turning back to focus on the task at hand. If someone had asked him a year ago if he saw himself working with his ex-fiancée, who happened to be a trained killer, take down one of the biggest corporations to exist. He would have laughed in their face and probably shoved an arrow where the sun doesn't shine but as fate would have it that was exactly what he was doing.

Jamie disappears inside the guard tower and he watches as she takes the two guards seated in the room down with quick precise movements before disappearing through the only other door in the room, the door which would take her further into the warehouse. All he had to do know was wait and make sure to keep the courtyard clear, if the last two warehouse strikes were anything to go by, Jamie would bring the party to him.

He waits for what seems like an hour when in reality is nothing more than fifteen minutes when he hears his cue, glancing to the left he sees Jamie running full pelt towards the crane he was using as a perch, five men with very big guns trailing behind her. Shifting his position he knocks an arrow and waits for Jamie to clear the crane before he lets the first one fly, he doesn't register the body hitting the floor instead knocks four more arrows in consecutive strokes, watching as each one hits its intended target.

"Any more surprises" he asks the woman below his feet

"Oh baby they are just the starter" he can hear the smirk in her voice and sighs deeply "We have the main course to go yet"

"Let's hope it's not a lengthy meal"

"I don't plan to make it one baby" she says before he hears her run off in a different direction.

Over the last two weeks he had learnt to stop his body tightening as Jamie called him baby, it had become an occurrence she didn't seem to be dropping, same as the Robin Hood thing. It was what she had called him when they were together, no other pet name, always baby. He was almost certain she didn't know she was doing it, a slip of the tongue, but at the same time he had the smallest inkling that she did know what she was doing. It seemed like her intention was to wind him up like a bowstring and see how long it was before he snapped.

He was close.

Before he can think any more the sounds of gunshots ring in his ears and he looks down to see Jamie has brought more people to the party. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he goes about disposing of as many as he can as Jamie works to rid the others. They worked in a broken tangent, Clint with his bow and Jamie with nothing more than her fists and in some slight desperate cases, her knives. He had learnt at the first warehouse she preferred her fists and from what he could tell she was trained in all sorts of hand to hand combat. It turned him on in a way that was far from healthy and made him once again think about booking himself a bed in the asylum.

Pretty soon the bad guys disperse and Clint makes his way down the crane and towards where Jamie is waiting, her brow damp with sweat and a shit eating grin on her face.

"Light it up flames"

He watches as she calls on her ability and lets it flow forward lighting the courtyard up like a bonfire, the two of them stand basking in the heat before walking over to where they parked the car. Shunting his bow and quiver Clint climbs in the driver's seat and hands them to Jamie. Placing them down near her feat she rests her feet on the dashboard as Clint starts the car and pulls out onto the darkened road.

"We need to change tactics" Jamie comments after the two of them are seated in silence for ten minutes

"What do you mean?"

"It's been three weeks and with SHIELD's resources we have only been able to locate four warehouses that belong to Viper" she comments dryly "Not to mention Fury is riding our asses worse than road rash and wants to know our every move, simply because we're using SHIELD assets"

"You aren't good at playing well with others are you" Clint comments and laughs as he receives a glare from the small woman "Just an observation"

"It's not that I don't play well with others, it's that I've never had to"

"What do you mean?"

"The SRT worked off the radar, as did our targets. I only hit SHIELD's radars because I made it so that I could do a mission by making them chase their tail"

"You knew they wanted you?"

"I'm thirty years old, SHIELD have wanted me since I was eighteen baby"

"Great" Clint drawls wondering just what else Fury was hiding from him

"As I was saying, the only time SRT became involved with our missions was at the beginning and at the end as we came home. The middle was all our own, we did what we needed to. Viper is the sister corporation which means it works the same way"

"I don't understand"

"To catch a ghost you become one yourself" she smirks "We need to go off the radar"

"And how do you plan on us doing that"

He really didn't need to ask the question but he was taken advantage of their secret pact to always be truthful with each other, yeah he knew she was hiding stuff about her past back but he was hoping if he made her trust him enough, she would share it and allow him to understand her better.

"Well getting out of San Diego is the first call" she sighs tipping the chair back "And then we'll go from there"

"So no contact with SHIELD" he clarifies

"Not till we're done" she nods "Which means we better stop off at few of their armouries and top you up on arrows"

"Where we heading?" he asks, locations running through his mind

"Sunny Los Angeles"

He couldn't help but smirk wondering just what he was following the woman beside him into but this was her world, she knew it better than anyone else and if he was truly honest with himself he would follow her anywhere without question. Reaching forward and turning on the radio Clint settles in for a long day of driving as he hears Jamie settle down to his left, her breathing becomes shallow as she gives in to sleep.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Wake up sleepy head"

Clint groans as Jamie's too cheery voice meets his ears and he opens his eyes slowly to notice bright light streaming down into his face. Groaning again he brings his hands up and rubs them down his face harshly before reopening his eyes, his eyesight but better.

"Coffee"

Clint glances to the left to see Jamie stood next to the open passenger door a little Styrofoam cup in her hand containing his morning, but in this case late night salvation. Grabbing it he sits up and takes a large gulp, the hot caffeine burning his tongue but he ignores it.

"Where are we?"

"The dirty underbelly of LA" Jamie comments

"I take it that's a good thing"

"Oh yes" Jamie smirks "We're here to see a friend"

Clint nods and climbs out of the car as Jamie moves out the way, he stretches feeling his back pop into place a large groan leaving his lips at the movement. As he straightens back out he feels Jamie staring at him and looks over to see him looking at her with a contemplative look on her face. Stepping forward Clint watches as Jamie moves the jacket down his arms, he helps her as it gets to his hands and raises an eyebrow as she throws it into the back of the car and locks it leaving him in his black combat boots, black trousers and dark grey t-shirt that was too tight and showed his lean chest through the thin material.

"Too government like" she shrugs before grabbing two of the bags he now realises are sat at their feet before walking off

"I take it your friend doesn't like them" Clint questions as he picks up the remaining two in one hand whilst keeping hold of his coffee in the other

"Something like that"

He sighs realising he wasn't going to get any more out of her and follows behind as she sets off towards their destination, as he drinks his coffee his eyes take note of Jamie's tight combat trousers. The material highlighting one of the main assets on Jamie he appreciated the most, her ass, her above proportioned chest was a high ranking winner in his book as well but her ass was one of the many things he first noticed about her. And as he watches her walk, the material tightening with every step he feels all the blood rush towards his cock.

Defiantly not the right time for those thoughts to enter his brain.

Jamie stops outside what appears to be a rundown shoe shop, the wood work around the windows looking as though they'd seen better days, the windows themselves covered from the inside with tarp and an old fashioned post box hanging by the door by what appeared to be sheer will and nothing else. Clint watches confused as Jamie switches the bags to one hand and knocks on the door in a three knock break knock twice more routine before jumping in shock as a highly up-to-date keypad and palm scanner appears from the post box.

Jamie smirks at him as she keys in a twelve digit code before placing her dainty hand on the scanner. Clint glances down the street on both ends to make sure no one is around, habit more than anything else before turning back as the door before them opens to allow them entry. As he follows Jamie through the door he sees the keypad disappear into the derelict post box and he can't help but chuckle in amazement which grows louder as he notices the room they'd just walked into.

From the outside the place looked as though no one had frequented it for many years but inside was a completely different story. The room was decorated in a subtle dark blue colour and had a rather large table, which oddly enough looked like a meeting table, placed to the left and on the right were different old arcade machines. Before Clint can look around anymore he sees Jamie slip through a door in the back left corner and follows her through like a dutiful little sheep only to stop as his jaw drops.

He feels as though he's walked into one of Tony Stark's wet dreams, the room was covered in computers, any spare wall space had a monitor as well as a bay of at least ten situated in the middle hooked up to at least three keyboards. The fifty odd different screens all seemed to be doing different jobs and as Clint tried his hardest to understand them all he realizes each and every one was in a completely different language. He watches as Jamie drops the two bags she was carrying in the corner and he does the same before turning to her.

"Is your friend somewhere?"

"She must be in the garage" Jamie nods and Clint nods before following her again.

"She…" Clint asks Jamie's back only for said woman to throw him a smirk and a wink over her shoulder.

Walking down two long corridors Clint tries to take in his surroundings but all the doors are closed and the ones that are open lead to empty rooms. Who would have thought an abandoned shoe shop had so many fucking rooms. Walking into the room at the end Clint once again stops short as his jaw hits the floor, the room was filled with cars of all calibre. Some speed (Nissan Skyline GTR, Porsche 911 Carrera), Muscle (Chevrolet Camaro, 1967 Chevrolet Impala, Dodge Charger) and others that were basic shells and looked as though they were demon lovechild of other cars. In the middle of the room was a girl who had a youngish face and was around the same height as Jamie but Clint could see she was no child.

"If it isn't my favourite bird" the woman calls as she walks over to Jamie.

Clint watches the two women interact, his brain making mental notes of her looks. She came up to just Above Jamie's eye's which meant she was around 5 ft 3 inches, had bright green eyes, brown hair with natural streaks of blonde and red and had a smirk to rival the devil's and also her accent told him she was British which made him wonder just how the two females knew each other. She was wearing denim dungarees over a white shirt, both pieces of material covered in oil and dirt, on her feet were sneakers that upon closer inspection seemed to show pictures of Captain America. Clint tries to hold in his smirk as both women turn to face him.

"Arellia this is Hawkeye" Jamie says introducing the pair "Hawk this is Arellia."

Clint goes to say his name as he shakes Arellia hand but Jamie shakes her head slightly indicating it wasn't the best thing to do. He shrugs and let's go of the woman's hand as she steps back and looks between Clint and Jamie, an observing glint in her green eyes.

"Two birds huh" Arellia smirks "Who landed who first?"

"What?" Clint asks chuckling

"I could bottle up and sell the sexual tension between the two of you, so who landed who"

"It was mutual" Jamie adds "But that was a long time ago"

Clint nods in agreement as she once again glances between the pair before nodding. She pivots on her foot and looks at Jamie with an eyebrow arched and one hand placed on her tilted hip.

"What do you need?"

"We need to borrow Bird's Eye" Jamie responds jumping straight into the deep end.

"The irony of that sentence is not lost on me" Arellia responds laughing before telling the two to follow her.

As Clint and Jamie walk behind Arellia Clint nudges Jamie and asks the question he really wants to with his eyes as to not give anything away. Jamie leans on his shoulder placing her lips near his ear, her hot breath making shivers run down his spine and his mind return to earlier thoughts regarding her ass and boobs.

"She only knows me as Phoenix" Jamie whispers before standing straight

Clint nods and stops in the doorway of the computer room as he watches Arellia sit behind the bay of computers.

"What am I looking for?"

"Anything and anyone to do with a man called Braydon McLeish and a corporation known as Viper"

"You got it, it could take a couple of days though" Arellia says typing away on the three keyboards

"That's fine"

"May I ask a question" Clint asks cutting in "What exactly is Birds Eye"

Arellia turns on her chair and smirks at Clint "Birds Eye is my baby, basically it is a tracking program that can find anyone anywhere in the world. It uses every known camera in the world, even those found in phones, ATM's, CCTV and all that fun jazz. To compile face recognition of someone, and sometimes even voice recognition if a microphone is in close proximity and from there I can track them anywhere in the world"

"So basically what she is saying" Jamie cuts in "Is that through her program we can track Braydon as well as anyone he has been talking to about Viper and from there we can find all of Viper's bases"

"Yeah but Braydon isn't just going to give away secrets in the open" Clint states

"He doesn't need to" Arellia Says smirking "All he needs to do is talk to someone for you to find him and those associated with him"

Clint nods but can't help but marvel at her brains, she created this program and it basically stripped away every inch of fabricated privacy someone could hide themselves behind. A dark thought enters Clint's mind of what would happen if she ever met up with Tony, all he could think was that together the two of them could do anything their minds set out to do.

This in its self was a very dangerous idea.

"I thought you said we had to go off the radar" Clint says to Jamie as she leans against the table to Arellia's left "To me it seems we've come to the woman who built the bloody radar"

"That's the best thing" Jamie replies a smirk of her own lifting her cupid's bow mouth "No one but us three know this program exist"

Clint chuckles as he realises what Jamie says, his head shaking a little as he gets what she was telling him. How under the radar could you get by using a ghost program, the answer very fucking far indeed. He knew if SHIELD got their hands on it they would be in heaven for fucking years but a selfish part of Clint wants it to remain a secret, a thought he files away for future thinking.

"Okay so it's searching. Give me a couple of days to compile you some names and places to hit to begin with"

"Thanks" Jamie says laying a hand down on Arellia's shoulder

"No problem. Anyway in regards to living arrangements I still haven't gotten around to getting another guest room set up so the two of you will have to share"

"Its fine" Clint replies "We've done it before"

"I bet you have" Arellia laughs

Jamie snorts gently before walking to the corner of the room and picks two bags up, she walks past Clint who follows as she walks into another room, thinking it must be the guest room. He stays leant against the wall near the door as … pounds away on the keys, all the monitors in the room showing different parts of the world and different faces. He didn't understand any of it but was mesmerized all the same.

"How do you power all this" the random question slips off his tongue before he can stop it

"Solar panels hidden in the roof" Arellia shrugs "Can't exactly raise suspicions with the electricity bills now can i?"

"Guess not"

Arellia spins in the chair to face him, her young face lit up with a smirk "Why don't you ask the question that is really bugging you?"

"How do you know Phoenix?"

"I was never a part of SRT if that's what you're thinking, quite the opposite actually. I was eighteen, doing random hacking jobs to get by. Sometimes it was finding where someone's spouse was actually spending their time, others was to steal money. When one day I was told to hack into this corporation and steal a file"

"SRT" Clint interrupts and Arellia nods a faint smile on her face

"I got the file and didn't realise anything was wrong until Phoenix is kicking the door down, shooting the ones who paid me and pointing a gun in my face and asking how fast I could run"

Clint's eyebrow rises as he gets the words she wasn't saying, Jamie saved the woman's life. A rarity unto itself, he got the idea that she just killed because she was told to but it would seem he didn't know her at all and she was just like him in a way, the situation being freakishly similar to his situation with Natasha.

"I wasn't the first she saved" Arellia comments "It might surprise you but she does know the difference between who's blood she should have on her hands and who she doesn't"

"Yeah, I'm learning that"

"So I owe her a debt and when she comes knocking I help her anyway I can. I don't ask questions because I know it's not my place to know and I didn't ask about you because if she trusts you to know about me and my baby, that's good enough for me"

"You still care about her don't you" Arellia asks after the two of them are stood in silence for a while, the only sounds being the monitor's soft hum

"She's my ex-fiancée"

Arellia's eyes widen at the news "I wasn't asking that. Ex-fiancée's done wage into war together and protect each other's back. Only people who are still in love do that. So I ask you again, you still care about her don't you."

"The same question could be asked of her"

He knew he was evading the question be was never one for being put on the spot, he hated it. It made him feel powerless.

"Phoenix doesn't bring people in on her fights unless she cares about them, in her sick and twisted way it's the only way she can protect them. Yeah she probably took the job and was told you were to be a part of it. But she could have ditched you at any point; she is rather good at it. So think Hawk, has she done anything recently to tell you this was more than a mission to her because there lies your answer"

Arellia turns back to the keyboards in front of her letting Clint mull over all the words she just said. At first she came off as a complete nerd but in reality she was someone who saw everything at once and immediately understood the situation. She not only knew it but interprets it and knows what answers she was supposed to be saying at any given time. And somewhere deep in Clint's heart he was also glad she was looking after and keeping Jamie's best interests at heart.

Wishing the woman goodnight he grabs the two remaining bags and heads to the room Jamie disappeared into making sure not to wake the woman. Placing the bags against the wall near the door he glances over to the bed that was flat against the wall on one side to see Jamie fast asleep. A night shirt on which looked like the one Clint spotted her in that one time, the shirt that once belonged to him, the covers thrown hazardously over her legs and one hand across her stomach whilst the other rested under the pillow.

Shaking his head he heads into the bathroom he can see faintly illuminated by the moon and closes the door gently. He glances in the mirror to see he looks like complete and utter shit, the stress of this whole mission giving him bags under his eyes and a tired look to his features. On his chin rested a yellowing bruise from the second warehouse attack where one of the guys managed to get in a cheap shot before Jamie slit his throat.

Stripping off his shirt he sees other marks littering his torso in varies stages of healing, his mind running over the possibilities of walking out the door now and considering the mission a dead end whilst on the other hand something was making him stay and if he was completely honest with himself he didn't know what it was.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he finishes washing his face and heads back out into the bedroom stripping off his boots and the rest of his clothes leaving him in his boxers. He climbs into the bed next to Jamie making sure to leave a reasonable amount of room before closing his eyes, sleep hitting him almost as soon as they closed.

* * *

**Firstly thank you DEMN for the name Arellia, oh and correcting my spellings which I know you will do after this is posted. I really need to make you my beta.**

**Secondly I watched Fast and Furious 7 yesterday hence Arellia's little masterpiece. Unless you've watched the film I won't say anymore.**

**Thirdly keep an eye on Arellia as she could be appearing in my Steve/Oc story that will be posted once this one has ended. Who knows she could be the OC.**

**And another thing, I wanted Arellia to be a voice of reason but not if you get what I mean, she makes them rethink the thoughts they've pushed aside.**

**Anyway, enjoy lovelies. Opinions (reviews) would mean the world but eh it's up to you. I love you all anyway**


	12. Chapter 12

Jamie was starting to realise that sharing a bed with Clint again was going to be disastrous to her health and also her emotions, maybe her body too. When she had left Clint and Arellia the night before she had just wanted a moment to herself, a moment to assess her wounds, make a new plan and straighten out the thoughts raging in her mind. Instead she'd collapsed on the bed and fallen straight to sleep.

When she had fallen asleep she was on the other side of the bed closest to the wall but now she was awake she realises that firstly she was no longer alone and secondly she was defiantly not on the side of the bed she fell asleep on. Instead she was laid across Clint's body like some fucked up spider monkey. Her head was resting on his chest with her arm slung over his stomach and her leg over his own.

Sidling herself sideways so she was straddling him she starts to move to the side ready to climb off when two hands clamp down on her hips. Glancing up at his face she watches as his eyes flutter open and his grey eyes lock in her place by staring deep into her brown ones. She felt like prey trapped in the gaze of a predator just waiting for the moment when the predator was going to strike and take her down with a single blow. Her breath leaves her lips in heavy puffs as she continues the stare off, her heat beating an erratic rhythm as though it was trying to break out of her chest.

Before she can react Clint shoots up from his position and fuses their lips together in a rough tango, his hands tightening on her hips bringing her closer to his chest, the crevice between her legs brushing over the lengthening bulge in his pants making her moan into his mouth as the breath rushes out of her lungs.

She grips the back of his neck roughly as he rolls her to the side and onto her back, his body slipping between her legs causing a rough friction against her skin. She hisses as he bites down on her lip gently before soothing it with his tongue, his mouth trailing down her jaw and onto her neck, his kisses becoming rougher as he gets closer to the one spot on her neck only he knew about, the spot that could make her come undone.

She breathes out a moan as he lips lock on that exact spot, his hands still gripping her hips tightly as though he was afraid she would disappear at any moment. She couldn't blame him, she knew they shouldn't be doing this, they couldn't do this. But her body currently hated her and winning out in the argument against her brain, the sensations Clint was causing her to feel helping the argument sway the way her body wanted.

As she feels her shirt ride up her stomach a loud knock comes to the wooden door and Jamie snaps her head to the right, her eyes locking on the wooden door as though she could see the woman standing behind it. Glancing at Clint briefly she sees his eyes closed and his chest heaving, he sits up onto his knees his hands brushing down her stomach and legs as he changes position. Closing her own eyes she tries to get her breathing under control, another knock comes to the door, this time harder than the last and she sighs opening her eyes.

"Yeah" Jamie shouts, her voice husky and sounding as though she's just ran a marathon

"I have something" Arellia replies "Plus breakfast is here"

"Okay"

Jamie listens as Arellia's soft footsteps walk away from the door and down the corridor, when she can no longer hear them she turns back to Clint to see him still knelt between her legs, his steel eyes once again locked on her face. She stares at him for a few moments, her gaze flickering over his face trying to understand what he was thinking. Coming up empty she shuffles up the bed, her head fitting between the pillows before rolling to the side and sitting up on the edge of the bed. Steadying herself she stands up and walks over to her bag, grabbing it with a shaking hand she heads into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

As soon as she hears the lock click into place she drops the bag to the floor and leans against the cold wood, the cold against her heated body doing the job of bringing her brain back into gear, the incident that just happened playing over and over in her mind, her body still tingling from where Clint's hands had touched.

She knew that if Arellia hadn't knocked at the door, they would have gone further, a whole lot further. She couldn't deny that it had felt good because it did, just like it did in the dingy motel bathroom but they just couldn't, she wouldn't.

When she had turned her back on Clint she had promised herself that if she ever ran into him again she wouldn't fall back into bed with him, he didn't deserve the shit she brought with her. And yeah they hadn't exactly fallen into bed, they were sharing one but in her perspective it was the same god damn thing. Taking a deep breathe she strips off her night shirt and drops it on the floor, briefly noticing it land on the shirt Clint was wearing the night before.

Walking over to the full length mirror situated next to the sink her eyes look over her reflection. her lips were red from Clint's assault, her eyes bright with still brewing lust and her hair was mussed in a way that was going to be a bastard to brush. Glancing over her body, nothing but her boy shirt panties to obscure her view she sighs as she sees the bruises and cuts littering her body as well as the new red handprints circling her hips.

The bruises and cuts were due to warehouse attacks; the bastards guarding them didn't go down without a fight and seemed to like beating her around. She knew it was a risk going in with her face on view; most of the guards seemed to know who she was. But it had seemed like the only way, the only way she could get the answers she wanted.

Shaking her head she leans over and turns on the shower before bending down to grab the brush from out of her bag, glancing in the mirror she begins to brush out the tangled mess that she called her hair, every now and then her brown eyes dropping down to the image of her hips. the red handprints calling out to her, reminding her of what she had run away from but also promising her what would have happened had she not.

Snarling softly she drops the brush, the plastic object clattering against the floor, she rears her fist back and slams it into the mirror. The glass pane instantly shatters at the impact, small shards scattering over her body leaving little cuts, her knuckles dripping in blood, little drops hitting the floor along with the glass.

Moving away from the debris she strips off her panties and drops them on top of her shirt before climbing into the shower, the warm water rushing over her body. The blood off her knuckles swirling around the plughole tainting the otherwise clean water. Sighing softly she goes about washing her hair and body, her brain reminding her of Arellia's words about food. Once done in the shower she steps out, mindful of the glass and snatches one of the towels from the small rack near the door. Drying off she grabs a pair of black lace panties and bra, socks, black cargo pants and a white shirt. Quickly dressing she grabs her bag and walks back out the bathroom, breathing a sigh of relief as she sees Clint is no longer in the room.

Grabbing her boots she slips them on her feet and leaves the room, her wet hair slapping against her back as she allows it to dry naturally. Following the smell of food she appears in the main room near the front door to see Clint and Arellia sitting at the table, cartons of fast food breakfast scattered across the table top.

"Finally" Arellia gasps "I thought you bloody drowned in the shower"

"Not my style of dying" Jamie comments idly walking over the table and dropping into the seat next to Arellia "I prefer a more bloody way of dying"

"That you do Phoenix, that you do" Arellia laughs

Jamie just nods and grabs what she can only assume is her breakfast as well as the drink labelled with her name. Taking a sip she smiles as she sees it's her favourite tea before placing it back on the table, she begins to eat her food mindful of Clint's eyes currently staring at her. She knew she was acting childish ignoring him but her mind was still replaying what had happened in the bedroom and she knew if she looked at him she would be half tempted to finish it.

"You said you had something?" Jamie asks Arellia after swallowing a bite of her breakfast baguette

"Yes" the girl nods and stands from her seat

Jamie watches as she leaves the room and comes back in, the same sneakers she was wearing the night before making no noise on the floor. Jamie also notices she is wearing white cargo pants and a top which has a white, red and blue shield printed on it, in the centre of the shield was a white star.

"You know my friend Steve would love your addiction to Captain America" Clint comments, his words washing over Jamie like a heated balm

"Why?" Arellia comments, a confused look crinkling her brow

"No reason" Clint laughs "He just would"

Jamie could sense there was more to that comment but shakes her head decided to not pry into it, Clint knew Steve better than she did, she had no right asking about what he would find funny and why the way Arellia dressed would intrigue him.

"Whatever you say Hawk" Arellia smirks

"What you got Lia" Jamie sighs using the nickname she had given the woman, her full name was a mouthful and Jamie was certain that she said the name wrong half the time

"So I added a new tracker to Bird's eye a few months back. Basically it can now track mobile records and bank withdrawals and deposits as such"

"Being able to track phones is an old thing" Clint comments

"Ah yes but I can track where the phone was bought, who bought it and such and unlike other records I can track burner phones. And with the back stuff I can find out the names and then cross reference that with other bank accounts, say for instance they have one overseas"

"Like I do" Jamie nods

"Yes exactly" Lia nods, excitement dripping into her words and facial features "And I went back a few weeks, found the lovely footage of you guys blowing up Viper warehouses and started to track the records of all the guys you came into contact with"

"What did you find?" Clint asks now as intrigued as Jamie

"I found a few more aliases and real names to track but I might have found where the mother lode is, well where most of the activity originates from anyway"

"Where"

"New York"

Jamie blows out of huge sigh as the words ring in her ears, she was in New York she was as close as could be to the people who wanted her dead. She didn't like the feeling it produces in her stomach, hated the thoughts that begin to bleed into her mind.

"But I don't think it's the main Viper base" Lia adds "I think it's just where the main communications happen. If you get what I mean"

Jamie and Clint listen as Lia explains her findings, both of them running the information through their minds, trying to find the loopholes that could lead them to an opening. Jamie comes up short and realises it could just be a dummy corp, a reroute to throw people off the scent.

"We took the second in command out a few weeks ago" Clint states "Could you track his records down. He had to have been in contact with Braydon directly"

"What's his name?"

Jamie couldn't remember it for the life of her; so much had happened in a short space of time that she wasn't even sure if she could remember what happened the day before. Things were messed up, people wanted her dead and now because of her they also wanted Clint dead. She didn't put all the blame on her, no she put a good half of Fury, if he hadn't have decided to whip his dick out and show who was in charge of her future Clint wouldn't be in this room with her right now.

Shaking the thoughts from her mind she glances around the room to notice only her and Clint were in it, Lia no doubt gone to do what she does best which is hack information. In a selfish way she wished the woman was still in the room providing some sort of barrier between Clint and her, a buffer to help Jamie avoid answering questions that Clint was sure to ask but now she was alone with him she had no escape.

"About this morning…" she starts but Clint cuts her off

"Don't deny you wanted it just as much as I did" he all but growls

"I'm not" she says cutting her eyes to his before looking away "But it can't happen again"

"And why is that"

"It…It…It just can't" she stutters, her mind unable to form an answer

She hears the scrape of Clint's chair and waits as he walks towards her, his body moving in the same way his eyes had earlier, like a predator hunting his prey. He drops down in front of her, his body rocking on his heels and his eyes lock her into place.

"Why can't it happen Jamie" he says, the ending of the sentence a lot quieter as he remembers Lia doesn't know their real names

"Because it just can't" she growls standing up and pushing her way past him "We can't go back there again"

"Back where"

Sometimes she really hated his knack for wanting all the answers, if there was something he knew you weren't telling him, he would dig until he found it out. She snorts at the ironic nature of that sentence, it might be one of his flaws but he could have put it to better use during their relationship. Maybe then they wouldn't be in this shit storm, maybe then things would be different.

"You know where" she sighs, her answer vague but she knew he would get what she meant

"What back to when you actually loved me" he snorts "Or was that a lie as well"

"I could asks you the same thing" she thunders spinning on the balls of her feet, her eyes cut into angry slits as she stares at the man before her "You were living a lie as well, so I ask you. Was your love a lie?"

"What are you doing?" he growls

"Asking a question. Remember love we were both living a lie so think before you ask me questions about what I was lying about, I can turn it back on you just as quickly"

"This isn't about me"

"Isn't it" she snorts "You were living the lie right beside me Clint"

"You have no right turning this on me"

"Don't I" she spits "What was it you called your missions, Oh yeah business trips. Yeah business trips that ended up with you coming home bloody and bruised. Oh and not to mention the times you came home spelling like a whores perfume"

"Yeah well now you know the reasons behind that" he growls

This was familiar ground, this she could deal with as one of the things they were good at was being angry with each other. They could do that very well it was telling the truth they struggled with. Everything else, ranging from the lying to the fighting to using other people to make the other jealous all that they knew how to do. They had a way of creating anger in each other easily, which is why Jamie couldn't go back there; she couldn't go back to something that revolved primarily around anger.

"Including the perfume" she questions, her brow arched "But it still doesn't answer my question, did you really love me"

"I proposed didn't I" he growls running his hand through his hair roughly

"Oh please that was out of jealousy. Don't turn it around to something it wasn't me and you both know you didn't really want to marry me. You just wanted to keep the other guys off me"

Before she can blink Clint rushes at her and pins her against the wall with his hands firmly gripping her arms, she goes to kick out but he pins her body with his own, his knees digging into the soft flesh of her thighs. As the two of them breath heavily, Clint breathing out as Jamie breathes in, the two of them glare at each other in anger both of them having words on the tip of their tongue they want to speak, words that could hurt.

"You know shit about whether or not I wanted to marry you" he growls "But I'll fill you in. I could have taken back what I said the next day, you were drunk enough the night I proposed so it wouldn't have been far-fetched but I didn't did I"

"Oh wow" she smirks "The big bag archer couldn't take back three little words"

"I didn't take them back because I did fucking love you. I still do"

She manages to get her grip loose and pushes on his shoulders roughly watching as he stumbles back freeing her from his grip and the bruising sensation of the wall digging into her back. She takes a deep breath before glaring once more at the man before her.

"You loved a lie" she states "You still do"

"No I don't, I know who you fucking are and I don't care"

"Well I do"

Her words stun him into silence and her chest heaves as she takes deep breathes, Clint's mirroring hers as he stands before her, his eyes widening.

"You deserve someone better than me; I kill people for the fun of doing it. I fucking enjoy killing people Clint, could you see yourself with someone like me. Truthfully"

She watches his face as her question sinks into his brain, his facial features not once changing as he looks her deep in the eyes, his steel eyes locked on her brown ones.

"Yes I could"

"Well tough fucking shit" she growls "I don't want to be with you and to answer your question; yes my love for you was a lie"

She walks away from him, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes with each step. Her own words cutting deep into her heart, she was lying through her teeth and it fucking sucked. She had been taught to lie with conviction but that was the first lie she had told that was just that, a lie. She did see herself with Clint and that was what scared the living shit out of her.

She hears the front door slam and the sound echoes deep into her bones, leaning against the doorway to the computer room she lowers her head as the tears start to leave tracks down her face. The warm salty tears burning her in shame and guilt as they travel down her face and drip off her body landing on the floor.

"First you punch mirrors and then you punch a hole straight through that man's heart"

Jamie glances up to see Lia looking at her from the computers, a look on her face that simply told Jamie she didn't agree with what was just said.

"You really know how to break hearts girl"

"Fuck off Lia; this has nothing to do with you"

"I just watched the only man who could love you for who you really are, walk out the front door with no way of getting back in because you are a first class bitch. So yeah I think it has something to do with me seeing as you forgot the little titbit of information about Viper now wanting him dead as much as you"

"He'll be fine, he's a SHEILD agent and knows what he's doing" Jamie states but even she couldn't tell if she was trying to convince Lia or herself

"He's unarmed Phoenix"

"He'll be fine" she growls no longer wanting to hear Lia speak

She walks from the room and back to the bedroom slamming the door behind her, her eyes trail over to the bed, still messy from this morning and she feels a sob build up in the back of her throat. Sliding down the door she feels the tears flow like rivers as she begins to berate herself, she really had fucked up this time.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Leaving the room a couple of hours later, her face still wet from the water she had splashed on it to wipe of the dry tears she walks into the computer room to see Lia buzzing around like a headless chicken.

"What's wrong?"

"Clint, Hawk whatever his name is has been taken"

"WHAT" Jamie shouts rushing over to the computer bay as Lia pulls up what looks like footage from a speed camera

"This was just a few minutes ago"

Jamie watches as she sees Clint walk down the street, a street she recognises as the one right outside the building she was currently stood in, his head hanging low and hands stuffed in his pockets. A few moments later a black late model sedan with blacked out windows pulls up next to him and two guys jump out of the back and grab Clint roughly, one of them sticking him with a needle. Jamie feels anger seep into her bones as she watches Clint collapse helplessly into the arms of one of his assailants before they throw him into the back of the car.

"Who are they" she growls dangerously

She sees Lia shiver but she didn't really care "I'm tracking the license plate now as well as tracking the car"

"Where is it?"

"Three blocks over"

Grabbing one of the comm units Jamie shoves it in her ear before quickly running to her room to pick up her belt full of weapons, mostly her knives and heading off to the garage. She jumps into one of the cars, the one she knew was completed and heads out the garage, Lia opening the door for her to do so.

"You need to be my eyes Lia"

"Take the third right ahead of you and then two lefts, you'll see the turnings you need" Lia states "That will put you a block behind them"

"That's all I need"

* * *

**END NOTE – come on admit it, who hates Jamie right now**

**Also I just have to say Avengers: Age of Ultron is AWESOME. I'm a Brit so we got an early release and WOW it's awesome. I am not saying any more as I am not ruining anything for anyone.**

**Anyway enjoy the update, feedback would be awesome.**


	13. Chapter 13

Clint was starting to realize his habit of walking out of buildings after an argument was a habit he was going to have to break, as soon as possible. Last time it happened he came back to find Jamie gone from his life and this time he was kidnapped and locked inside a stone room that was barely big enough to move around in. he would have given anything to be back in the hideout screaming at Jamie, though if he was being completely honest he would give anything to go back to that morning, that was a memory he wouldn't mind reliving.

He didn't know how long he'd been trapped in the stone room; all he knew was his faith in Jamie finding him was slowly dwindling with each minute that passed. He did know he had been here long enough for his captors to have a play-date with his body and varies pieces of equipment. His arms were covered in long cuts, his wrists raw and bloody from the old iron shackles. His back was covered in whip marks and he was almost positive one or two of them were infected, whilst his legs played victim to various burn marks and bullet wounds.

The most ironic injury though had to be the most recent one to his right shoulder, a large gaping hole which was steadily bleeding down his chest and onto the floor, the equipment behind that injury being an arrow. One of his own weapons, in a sense, was used against him and if it wasn't for the fact he was immensely tired he would be laughing like a lunatic at the situation.

The iron door to the room opens and closes a few moments later, the arrival of another body depleting the room of its already limited oxygen making Clint's lungs work even harder to breathe in his salvation.

"Don't be falling asleep on me love"

The British voice was one he had come to hate, the whole sugary sweet texture of it making his skin crawl and his body tighten awaiting the next round of abuse. Looking up through his lashes he studies to short blonde haired woman leaning against the wall near the door, she had on her usual black ensemble but unlike the previous times she had visited him she had forgone the black mask. He takes note of her face, she looked around the same age as Jamie, and had blue eyes that made Clint think of frozen lakes. There was no emotion behind those orbs what so ever and Clint wondered just what had happened to cause that.

He had to admit if she wasn't one of his captors and it was another life he would have found her cute and would have tried anything to get her horizontal in his bed. But she was his captor and the only person he wanted in his bed was the one woman he wanted to come and rescue his ass already.

Then woman pushes off the wall and takes the three steps towards him, pulling a syringe out of her pocket she kneels down next to him and jabs it into his throat, the liquid travelling through his veins at a rapid speed.

"Something to wake you up" she croons before returning to her previous position next to the door.

"How are you feeling?" she asks

"Fuck you" he spits, the words coming out hoarse thanks to his dry throat

"I am sorry for your treatment" she laughs "But it isn't me you should be blaming"

Clint throws her a what the fuck look and her grin becomes wider as she shuffles against the wall so her back is leant clean against it and her feet are crossed at the ankles, the new angle giving her a clearer view of his form kneeling in his own blood on the floor.

"Phoenix was my tutor" she sing songs "She made me who I am. And she is the one who taught me how to torture someone. So everything I have been doing to you, you can thank her for"

Clint finds the words that were sitting on his tongue become clogged in the back of his throat, visions of Jamie being his torturer filling his vision. He growls and shakes his head before levelling a harsh glare onto the female.

"I hope she kills you slowly"

"Believe what you will Hawk" she laughs "But Serena is far from innocent, she taught a few of us how to kill, even killed those she deemed unworthy to train under her"

"Serena" he finds himself asking

"Jamie's real name" the woman shrugs "I guess there are a few things she has hidden from you huh"

Clint couldn't help it, he was staring. He knew Jamie had kept a lot of things from him, he was doing the same to her but he had no idea she had changed her name. She acted as though it was natural as though Jamie was the name she was born with, he would never have imagined that it was all a lie.

A bleep rings around the room and Clint looks up as his captor looks at her phone, a devil may care smirk filtering onto her features, with a small laugh she looks up, her frozen eyes meeting his grey ones.

"Speak of the she-devil and she will appear" she laughs, malice in every word "With a few friends"

With more glance at Clint the blonde leaves the room, the iron door slamming behind her once again leaving Clint alone. The too small room feeling as though it was closing in on him as he tries to strain his hearing, anything to hear what was happening outside the room, anything to hear the reassurance that Jamie was indeed here and coming for him.

Silence is the only thing that meets his ears as his vision begins to darken due to his blood loss, he fights it, he wants to stay awake and see Jamie. See that she is okay. Also he was curious as to the friends she was supposed to have brought with her, who would she have turned to, who would she have trusted to help find her find him.

It wouldn't be SHIELD that much he knew. She didn't trust them nor did she like them, they wanted her and she knew it. So he could cross those off the list, she would have Arellia at the computers to help her so she is off the list. And she wouldn't have turned to any of her assassin friends; she didn't know who wanted her dead the most. He realized then that there was no one Jamie could have turned to, which meant that she wasn't here to save him; she had been captured as well.

Just as his vision goes black the iron door opens and throwing it a quick glance he sees the door open and a woman with red hair rush towards him. He doesn't see the face but allows himself to fall into their arms as his body succumbs to the blood loss.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

When he next opens his eyes he knows immediately he is no longer in the stone room, the too light walls, the blankets covering his legs and also the faint trace of Jamie's perfume letting him know. Blinking to clear his vision he glances to the side and stops short as he sees the female seated next to him.

"Natasha" he whispers

"Hey" she smiles "You sure know how to get yourself into fucked up predicaments"

"How are you…" he starts before a violent cough cuts off his words

Natasha hands him a small glass of water and he takes timid sips as he feels the liquid coat his dry throat. When he's done he hands it back to her with a small nod before falling back onto the pillows, his whole body aching and tired.

"I was fresh off a mission and sat in the debriefing room with Steve and Fury when Jamie called, you should have heard her Clint, she ripped Fury a new one. I didn't hear specifics but what I did hear left Fury with no room to argue"

"She has a tendency to do that" he quips

"Anyway she told us you were missing and that she knew where you were but there was no way she could get in on her own and get the both of you out. Fury offered to send a STRIKE team but Jamie refused"

"So how did you get here" he cuts in

"Jamie requested me and Steve"

Clint blinks in shock as Natasha's words ring out in his ears, Jamie requested that Natasha and Steve come and help her. She didn't like to work with people so why would she request those two over a full STRIKE team.

"She liked Steve and she knew me" Natasha says reading the question on his face "Well knew me from when the two of you were telling the world's biggest lie"

Clint just nods and breathes out, a sense of relief flooding his bones that Jamie had used her brains and called in some help. The alternative was one he really didn't want to think about. He'd thought about it a few times in that year she was gone and for him that was enough.

"How long was I gone?"

"A week" Natasha replies bluntly "It took us a while to get a full read on the building and then Jamie and Steve had this big argument about the best way to get inside"

"Sounds like you guys have had fun"

"Sort of"

"Nat is she…"

"She's in one piece; I can't say the same for the building though" Natasha laughs "She gives a whole new meaning to the words playing with fire"

Clint nods and leans his head back as what Natasha tells him runs through his head alongside the memories of what happened whilst stuck in that stone cell. The face of the blonde pops up and he wonders just what happened to her was there a big fight between student and teacher or did Steve dispose of her, maybe Natasha did it. Before he can ask, a loud pitched female scream rips through the building and Clint sends Natasha a look to which she replies with an amused one.

"It seems Jamie was the one who taught your torturer" Nat smirks and it's almost malicious "But it would seem Jamie kept a few things to herself"

"Yeah" he sighs "That she knows how to do"

Natasha looks at him for a few moments before standing from her seat and walking to the small desk in the corner, she picks up a file, the width of it too much for one hand causing Natasha to lift it with two. She looks at the cover for a few moments before walking over and laying it down on Clint's knees gently.

"She said to read this"

"What is it?" As he speaks the words he realizes dread was filtering through his veins, whatever was stored in this file wasn't good.

"It's Jamie's file. All about her kidnapping, her childhood in SRT, the full list of how many people she's killed. The only thing missing is information on her ability"

Natasha nods at him before silently slipping from the room, the door closing on a breath of air leaving him alone, alone with Jamie's file. The contents telling him all he needs to know about the woman he once dated.

Staring at the manila folder he wonders whether or not he wants to read it, does he want to know the true extent of what she was forced to do, what she was forced to grow up into after being kidnapped whilst she was still a baby and the answer was simple.

He didn't.

If Jamie wanted him to know her history then she could tell him from her own mouth, paper didn't make a person. Moving the file off his lap he gingerly pulls himself from the bed and stands, his whole body quivering with pain but he grits his teeth and pushes through it, he notices he's dressed in clean clothes and moves over to where a pair of his boots are located slipping them on his feet.

He was glad his arm wasn't hindered by a sling as he hated those things, gingerly lifting his left hand he presses down onto his right shoulder and hisses, the injury still painful even after getting seen to, his back was also giving him gip but he knew he could ignore it. Padding back over to the bed he grabs the file in his left hand, the weight pulling on his sore wrist and bandaged cuts.

Opening the door he strains his hearing and hears the screams coming from his left, heading in that direction he passes the garage where Arellia and Steve were currently in deep discussion about something, Clint smirks as he sees Arellia once again dressed in something pertaining the man in front of her. The humorous tilt to Steve's lips letting Clint know he had noticed the attire and was finding it amusing.

Stopping outside the door that was hiding the screaming behind it he takes a deep breathe before pushing open the door, the sight that meets his ears making a deep glee settle into his bones. The blonde from the cell was strapped to the chair, ever part of visible skin covered in some sort of cut or hole, her hair was drenched in sweat and the cracking of her voice told Clint she had been screaming for a while.

The woman in front of the blonde was Jamie, her hair now dyed jet black and pulled up into a pony tail, black clothes fitting snugly to her body and Clint catches himself once again staring at her ass. No matter how much the woman pissed him off he had to admit she knew how to make his body coil and burn hot.

Speaking of hot he notices the simmering fire burning under the chair the blonde was sitting on, following the path of the fire he notices it coming from Jamie's hands, the fire engulfing them like a second skin. Shaking his head he closes the door quietly and drops down into the only other available seat, the sight in front of him being something his deep malicious side was finding amusing.

"Why did you go after Hawkeye?" Jamie growls

"Fuck you Phoenix" blondie spits

"You did once Chloe or did you forget that night in Budapest"

Clint couldn't contain the snort nor could he stop the images that flooded his mind. he was also wondering why it was always Budapest that interesting things happened.

"I won't tell you shit"

Jamie sighs and lowers the flames before walking over and landing a swift punch to the side of blondie's head, the woman in question passes out immediately from the blow. Jamie turns to face him, her brown eyes dropping the file in his hand before returning to his face.

"J…"

"Not here" she replies holding up a hand "Natasha is taking over with this slut so we need to talk somewhere else"

As she finishes the sentence Nat walks in and looks between the two of them, one of her eyebrow's lifting but she ignores it and moves out the way as Jamie heads out the door, Clint limping behind her. Jamie leads him through the building and to the room at the front, the room in which they had previously argued. He finds it ironic but limps over the table as Jamie puts on the kettle and begins to make the two of them a drink.

"I see Arellia's in her element" Clint comments

"Huh?" Jamie asks, confusion lacing her tongue

"Nothing" he chuckles remembering she didn't know who the Avengers were "I simply meant a hot guy she could talk to"

"Yeah, right" Jamie replies and he knows she picked up on the lie but lets it pass as she finishes making the two coffees.

Once done she walks over to the table and drops down on the opposite seat and hands him his drink before taking a small sip of the hot drink, placing it on the table she looks at him as he slides the file across the table top and towards her hands.

"Did you read it?"

"No" he replies steadily

"Why"

"Because I don't care about your past, what your true name is. I don't care about any of it"

"Why"

"I didn't with Natasha and she is one of my closest friends, and I don't care about yours. Simply because our past might be what makes us but what matters is what we do with our present and future, that's what defines us"

She just stares at him before pulling the file closer towards her, with her eyes still firmly on his she raises her hand and Clint notices that's it's once again enclosed with flames. Dropping her gaze to the file Clint watches as she places her hand on top, the paper immediately catching fire.

"That file is who I was" She says, her words a simpler echo of what Clint had said

Smiling slightly he stands from his seat and grabs his coffee, he decides to go talk to Arellia and Steve, see what has been dug up about Viper in his absence. As he gets near the door Jamie's calls his name, turning to look at her he sees the brown eyes glittering with unshed tears.

"I was taught that emotions and attachments were a weakness and weaknesses get you killed. I believed that for twenty five years until the day I walked into a coffee shop and a nice guy paid for my coffee due to the fact I didn't know the first thing about American money" she smiles wistfully "No matter what you believe about me, whatever image you have painted in your mind. Just know that you were the first one who taught me that my training was a lie, emotions weren't a weakness, they were strength. And through it all, I did truly care about you"

He nods and turns only just hearing the last words "I still do"

Walking from the room Clint knew those words were hard for her to admit, it was her way of apologising for the argument they had before he was taken, the argument in which she said she didn't love him. Smirking to himself he walks into the garage and drops into the seat next to Steve.

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**Not happy with this chapter but I've broken my arm and the painkillers have me in la la land so yeah.**

**Enjoy.**


	14. Chapter 14

Jamie felt old like way beyond her thirty years type of old. Her whole body ached, her mind ached from all the thinking and her heart hurt from the emotional rollercoaster it had recently been on. She was tired of it all, she wanted it all to end yet she knew it was far from over, there were still people out there who wanted her dead and now because of how idiotic she was, Clint, Nat and Steve were also on that list with her.

Looking around the room at the three of them she wondered just what she did to deserve these people who would fight at her side to end the enemies. At first she thought it was because of Clint but after spending a week thinking and planning with Nat and Steve she learnt they were willing to fight because of her.

Nat liked her due to their previous friendship and the red head had since forgotten the jealous rants Jamie had subjected her to, in a way Nat still counted Jamie as a friend and deep down Jamie counted her as a friend too.

Steve was someone who just wanted to do the right thing and would fight on the side of good no matter what the battle was. He was old fashioned and believed women needed saving so was more than willing to jump into battle at Jamie's request. It was something she liked about the man, his old tendencies reminding her of a time when chivalry was at its highest and men really did think women were more than cooks and cleaners.

And then there was Clint, after the two of them had talked he immediately set out finding out just what had been learnt in his absence. He made sure to download himself with it all, ever small bit as though missing something could tip the fight in the opposite direction. He would also make sure that Jamie was identified as the initial leader, even though Steve could lead just fine.

She didn't know why he was still fighting beside her, she had gotten him kidnapped and tortured yet he was still here, still fighting and still wanting to save Jamie's life. It amazed her and deep down it made her care for him even more. That was one of the reasons her heart ached.

She wanted nothing more than to rewind the clocks and go back to when her and Clint were happy, yeah they were living a lie but they were happy. But she couldn't, she couldn't go back as something deep in her gut told her this situation was bound to happen no matter what the time frame was.

Viper wanted her dead and they simply used the excuse of the SHIELD files to make it happen a lot sooner than planned. But now she knew their end game, Arellia was searching through their files to find all contacts ever employed as well as allowing her eye in the sky to find all the locations needed to put them to ground for good. Finally remove the threat that was hanging over Jamie's head like a hangman's noose.

After that she didn't know what she was going to do, whether she was going to continue working in the private sector or take Fury up on his job opportunity that he offered her oh so long ago in that motel room. It seemed like the perfect idealism, to protect people like her, gifted people as well as taking out the threats that could harm humans in an instant. But at what cost, she had already given so much of her life to the SRT, could she afford to give what was left to SHIELD.

She knew her blood was special, her body was special. The accident when she was younger made sure of that but she wasn't too sure when that special was going to run out. For fuck sake she didn't really know how fucking special she really was, all she knew was her injuries healed themselves over time a lot faster than that of a normal human, all of her injuries over the last two weeks had healed leaving unmarred skin in its wake when it should be a half healed scab by now, even her gunshot wounds that landed her in hospital no longer existed. She also knew she could handle temperatures that would normally cook a normal human to death and could withstand high voltages of pain that couldn't even be recorded, oh and she could control fire in all aspects, control it, form it, burn someone from the inside and so forth. Other than that she knew nothing about herself after the accident.

That was also one of the reason she was hoping to see Brandon one more time so she could get the answers from him that he withheld from her before she put him down for good. The man was now her enemy when for so long he had been her tormentor. He had done things to her that left scars deep below the surface, deep red and angry scars that every now and then leaked poison into her body and made her do and think things that only ended with bloodshed.

She could try to admit it all she wanted; tell a lie to the point that even she was confused as to whether or not she was telling the truth or a lie. But the reality was that she had started to hate killing, not the bad guys know them she could kill until she was blue in the face. The innocents, those who didn't deserve to die; those who had done no harm but wake up that morning with a desire to live. Those she didn't like to kill and no matter the training she received she could never rid herself of the bile that settled in her throat as she watched the life drain from their eyes.

Sometimes as she walked from the locations where her dead lay like sick tokens to the gods, she caught herself wondering what her life would have been liked had she not been kidnapped. Would she have been a good child, one who followed rules and made sure to tell her parents she loved them regularly? Would she have gone to school every day and achieved the highest marks and then gone on to the best university. Would she have a successful career, a husband and two kids and a retirement fund hidden away in the sock drawer?

It was all a pipe dream, a hidden wish that she held onto to help her through her darkest days. In reality she knew one way or another she would have ended up here in this very room surrounded by three people who would fight with her. Three people who were willing to lay down their lives at her side to end a corporation that was injecting the world with poison. She also knew her accident would have happened, albeit in different circumstances but she always destined to have fire in her veins and there was plenty of ways for that to happen and knowing her luck she would have found one no matter the situation or location.

In a wayward thought she wonders whether in a different life she would have been a SHIELD agent, been an agent fighting alongside Clint, Steve and Nat to a different fife, a different set of drums with the same purpose. To protect the world from the bad guys, the monsters and the things that go bump in the night.

She once thought that's what she did but now her eyes had been opened, she realized that she wasn't protecting the world from the bad guys because she was one. She was a monster that the world needed protecting from; she had the blood of innocents on her hands and knew that there was a very likely chance that more would end up on them before she was laid in the ground and became worm food.

"Phoenix"

Jamie turns her head as the soft voice of Arellia filters into her ears, looking at the young woman she sees her holding a file out, a lollipop stuck between her lips making her seem like an overgrown child. And in reality she was.

Jamie had saved Arellia's life because in a way Ari reminded Jamie of herself, someone who is forced to do something just to survive. Yeah Ari went about that survival in a completely different way but the comparison was still there, they were still both skilled and had those skills abused by men who thought they were kings.

When she had rescued Ari and brought her to Los Angeles she thought that was the end of it, she would never see the young woman again but fate had other plans and Jamie had relied on the young woman too many times to count. The whole time she was in hiding she had Ari make sure no one know who Jamie really was and Ari made sure Jamie had a heads up if things ever went bad. How Clint slipped under Ari's radar she doesn't know but Jamie was glad he did, things worked out okay thanks to it.

And now Jamie had placed Arellia on SHIELD's radar thanks to her needing help, to get Nat and Steve she had to disclose her location as well as anyone who was with her otherwise Fury was going to send a strike team to come collect her and take her to Washington, Arellia included so Jamie did the only think she could to keep that team away and that was to tell the truth. Now Arellia's security bubble had been burst but instead of hating Jamie for it, Arellia saw it as a new challenge.

Mostly Jamie thinks Steve has something to do with it but she wasn't one to pry.

Bringing herself out of her thoughts she sees that Ari has moved back over to her bank of computers and is currently relaying information to the three people seated at the table surrounded by maps, glancing down into her lap Jamie sees that Ari left the file she was holding previous atop of it it. Picking it up Jamie opens the pages and begins to scan the information, her jaw dropping slightly as she glances between her three team mates and the images on the paper.

She was surrounded by three members of the team known as the Avengers. When she was in New York she had heard all about the attack and the people involved, one of them being Tony Stark and the other a rather large and green rage monster known as Hulk. But she hadn't thought that Nat, Steve and Clint were the other three members of the team as well as according to these pages a god by the name of Thor.

It sort of explained why Ari was fascinated with Steve so much, she had the biggest idol crush on Captain America and if this Intel was correct, which Jamie thought was highly likely then the lovable blue eyed man was Captain America. She had seen him fight and the way he protected her allowed her to believe it;- not to mention he fought with a shield and not many people did that nowadays.

Then there was Nat who was better known as the Black Widow. Jamie had heard of the black widow project and had even shut down some of its training cells a few years back when the SRT launched a full grade attack on the KGB. Jamie had initially thought that all of them were dead, each member of the program getting killed but it would seem Nat was sneakier then the rest and instead found another place to set up her web.

It made Jamie cautious but at the same time she respected the redhead. The two of them had been through similar upbringings and had both survived. Nat finding SHIELD and somewhere she could be herself and not judged by her past whereas Jamie had yet to find that but looking at the redhead and seeing how happy she was finding Intel of a possible threat and planning how to take them down whilst bouncing ideas of Steve and Clint, Jamie realised it was still possible for her to find that safe place.

And then there was Clint, his missions for SHIELD already made sense but now she understood why he hid so much when he was in New York and tailing her. Steve already informed her that when it was Clint's turn to guard her when she was out the man kept to the rooftops and out of sight of passers-by, she originally thought it was because he didn't want people to see the bow but she now realised it was because he didn't want recognizing as Hawkeye, the Avenger.

"Thanks" Jamie calls over to Arellia closing the file and setting it on the table next to her

The young woman nods with a small smirk lifting the corner of her lips, Jamie knew Ari was taking pleasure out of knowing something about the three spies in front of her before Jamie did. But Jamie wasn't too bothered; they were allowed their secrets as god knows she had hers.

Yet when she tried to tell all three of them they just shut her down and said it didn't matter. As though her past was simply that, a past she had lived and moved on from. She hoped that was the case and this was going to be the only time that it came calling to kick her in the ass but she wasn't that hopeful.

Pulling away from those dark thoughts she once again watches the team around her to find all four of them laughing at something Ari was pointing to on her screens, all their faces were free of the tension that had become a permanent home. Their bodies relaxed as though the strings that were holding them up had snapped allowing them to just feel instead of function.

Watching them Jamie could feel her own disappearing and it brings a small smile to her face. Clint glances over at her his eyes caring and she nods to tell him she was okay. It wasn't her he was to worry about it was himself. She had seen the damages when they brought him in and could see them healing on his face now, as well as the pain.

She would give anything to help Clint through it, transfer her freakiness onto him to help him survive but It was impossible instead all she could do was sit by and watch as he hurt, watch as he healed and then try to make sure it didn't happen again.

It was one of the main reasons she had admitted she still loved and cared for him earlier, yeah she hadn't fully come out and say it but that was the point. He knew her well enough to know when to read between the lines. And he knew when she was giving him closure and that's what she was, giving him closure to know that not all of their life together was a lie. There were some parts of it that were real, like the love.

Maybe one day she'll tell him to his face but for now it was better that she went in riddles. It wasn't the time for love, it wasn't the time for history. It was the time for action and consequences.

She was going to take Viper down any way possible and if she died doing it then at least she knew she'd gone down doing something that mattered, something good for a change.

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**So sorry I haven't updated this story for a while. Since breaking my arm typing has been a little hard. Either way I wanted to make this chapter a good one hence why I got inside Jamie's head so much. I know the chapter is short but I'll make the next one longer. Promise.**

**Feedback would be awesome. So please let me know what you think, if not I don't mind you silent readers and I hope you love this update.**

**See ya soon**


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